Read a historical political cartoon: symbols, labels and message
Grade 8 Social Studies Worksheet
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The snake reused, 1765 to 1775 (cards A to D). Card A, a summary in our words from the Library of Congress guide to Chronicling America: on September 21, 1765, the "Join or Die" image appeared on the masthead of The Constitutional Courant; on July 7, 1774, The Massachusetts Spy printed a different "Join or Die" cartoon under its masthead, in which the snake confronts a winged beast; on July 27, 1774, The Pennsylvania Journal printed a changed version reading "Unite or Die"; and on December 27, 1775, a writer using the pseudonym "American Guesser," another Franklin pseudonym, described a rattlesnake on a marines' drum with the motto "Don't Tread on Me." The guide says the call was now for the colonies to join against the British for independence. Card B, a summary in our words from the National Park Service article on printmaking in the colonies: after the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, Parliament imposed severe restrictions on Massachusetts with the Intolerable Acts in 1774. The acts caused general unrest and led to the revival of Franklin's image from 1754. "Join or Die" or "Unite or Die" with a snake became part of newspaper mastheads in Boston, New York and Philadelphia through 1775, and the Massachusetts Spy printed it under its masthead beginning in 1774. Card C, from the same article, in our words: a coiled snake was used often as a symbol of colonial hostility against British policies. The most enduring example was the flag designed by South Carolinian Christopher Gadsden for the colonial navy in 1775, with the words "Don't Tread on Me." Card D, from the same article, exact: "Some image motifs like coffins, rattlesnakes, and billowing smoke were likely very effective since printmakers used them repeatedly." The article ends that such images, serving as propaganda, "likely helped garner support for the revolutionary cause."
Between 1754 and 1774, how did the aim of the snake cartoon change, Ari asks?
- It did not change, since the picture and words stayed the same
- From unity against the French to unity against British policy
- It cannot be compared, since the two uses are twenty years apart
- From a warning to Britain to a warning to France
Why would printers in several cities put the snake under their mastheads in 1774 and 1775, Bo asks?
- To show off the printers' skill with woodcuts to rival newspapers
- To obey an order from Parliament to print the snake on the front page of the paper
- To show Britain wanted the colonies to stay united
- To remind readers in each issue of a call to unite against British policy
Cards A and B both say the Massachusetts Spy printed the snake in 1774. What does the agreement show, Esme asks?
- It shows nothing, since both sources are modern and so cannot agree
- It confirms the cartoon caused the Revolution to begin in 1774
- It raises confidence in the date, though both may use the same pages
- It shows the sources disagree about the date of the Spy's cartoon
A student writes: "The snake appeared only in Massachusetts." How strong is that claim, given cards A and B, Kira asks?
- Strong: card C names a South Carolinian who used the snake on a flag in 1775
- Weak: card B says the snake was banned in Massachusetts
- Weak: cards A and B name papers in Pennsylvania, New York and Boston
- Strong: card A names the Massachusetts Spy, a Massachusetts paper
A student writes: "The snake cartoons caused the colonies to unite." How strong is that claim, given card D, Luz asks?
- Strong: card A shows the snake printed in several cities
- Weak: card D says the images "likely helped," which is not proof
- Weak: card D says the images had no effect on anyone
- Strong: card B says the acts caused unrest, so the snake caused the rest
How might a Patriot printer and a Loyalist reader each take the 1774 snake, Milo asks?
- Neither would notice a picture on a masthead
- The Loyalist would praise it as loyal to the king and to Parliament
- The printer a call to unite; the Loyalist an attack on the king's government
- Both would take it as a friendly message from Britain to the colonies
In the 1774 Massachusetts Spy version, the snake confronts a winged beast (card A). How should a reader decide what the beast stands for, Pia asks?
- Choose whichever meaning seems most interesting
- Ask what a winged beast means in a movie today
- Check captions and 1774 text, since meaning depends on viewers then
- Assume it is a dragon, because dragons are winged and fierce in stories
Which chain do cards A to C best support, Ren asks?
- The Gadsden flag came first, and it caused the Intolerable Acts that Parliament passed in 1774
- Printers revived the snake, and Parliament then passed the Intolerable Acts
- Tea Party and Intolerable Acts brought unrest, the snake returned, then a snake flag
- The snake mastheads of 1775 caused the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, two years earlier
The Gadsden flag was designed for the colonial navy in 1775 (card C). What was its snake and motto for, Tala asks?
- A call for the colonial navy to join Britain's fleet
- A trademark for South Carolina merchants selling goods across the colonies
- A symbol of colonial hostility to British policy, on a navy flag
- A symbol of the new alliance with France against Britain
What new evidence would best test whether the snake images "helped garner support," Zee asks?
- Letters and newspaper replies from 1774 and 1775 that mention the snake
- More copies of the same masthead from the same newspaper, printed again
- A modern poster of the Gadsden flag from a gift shop
- A Patriot speech praising the snake as a cause of unity