THE FIRST NEWSPAPER POLITICAL CARTOON

 

The first newspaper political cartoon published in the United States was "The Pennsylvania Gazette on 9th May, 1754. It depicts the first letter of the states on the broken pieces of a snake. It was published by Benjamin Franklin, the then President of America, with the caption "Join or Die".

Commissioned by Benjamin Franklin and attributed to silversmith James Turner, the "Join or Die" political cartoon was initially created during the French and Indian War and reused to encourage American colonies to join the Albany Plan for Union. It depicted a snake cut into segments. Each abbreviation represented the American colonies. A popular superstition held that a snake cut into pieces could come back to life if its segments were rejoined before sunset. The colonies depicted are Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and New England (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut). Absent is Delaware, which was governed as part of Pennsylvania and known as the "Lower Counties on Delaware." Originally, Franklin did not include Georgia, the newest and most sparsely populated colony, chartered in 1732 as a haven for English debtors. It was later added as the snake’s tail, symbolizing the necessity of including the youngest colony for effective colonial unity. The iconic message, "Join or Die," underscored the critical importance of collective colonial action against external threats. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the US, a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was best known as a Founding Father of America.