The Impact of the "Join or Die" Cartoon

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Welcome to Talk with History.

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I'm your host, Scott, and today I have a special story and

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some announcements for you.

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We have been hard at work on our hundredth podcast episode coming up, and we have

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hoped to have a very special guest on for it, so make sure you're following

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us in your podcast player of choice.

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And stick around after this short story as we have an announcement

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that is sure to excite all of those history fans out there.

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Today we're taking a trip back to 1754, a time of unrest in the American colonies.

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Threats from abroad and rising tensions between the colonies themselves created

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a climate of fear and uncertainty.

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But in this critical moment, a powerful image emerged that would rally the

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colonists and serve as a potent symbol of unity, a join or die political cartoon.

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This wasn't your typical comic strip.

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The brainchild of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of

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America, the join or die cartoon with a woodcut image depicting a snake

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severed into eight distinct pieces.

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Each piece represented a single colony, fragmented and vulnerable.

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But below the snake, a chilling message loomed.

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In bold letters, join or die.

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The message was clear.

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Disunity met weakness, and only through a united front could the colonies

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survive the challenges they faced.

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Franklin, a master printer.

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The author himself published the cartoon in his Pennsylvania

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Gazette on May 9th, 1754.

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It quickly spread throughout the colonies, appearing in newspapers and pamphlets.

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The Join or Die cartoons struck a chord with the colonists.

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The image of a helpless snake resonated with the anxieties

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about their own fragile state.

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The stark message of unity served as a call to action, urging them

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to put aside their differences and work together for the common good.

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The impact of the Join or Die cartoon extended Far beyond its

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initial publication, throughout American history, the image has

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been reused and reinterpreted.

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A constant reminder of the importance of unity in times of crisis.

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From the fight for independence to the Civil War, the join or die

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message has served as a rallying cry for those who believe in a

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stronger, more unified country.

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Even today, the image continues to spark conversation, reminding us of

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the power of collective action and the importance of working together to build a

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better future.

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We just heard a story about the history of the now famous join or die

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cartoon from 1754, a call to action that unity is essential to survival.

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This call of unification inspired a movement we recently started

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in 2024, and that is the website.

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HistoryOrDie.

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org.

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With almost unlimited information at the fingertips of every person on the planet,

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it is more important than ever to learn, understand, and talk about history.

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True, unbiased, and well researched history.

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As the saying goes, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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We are building a place where people can now find the Internet's best.

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Best history creators, and that is history or die.org.

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There are already some amazing history content creators there and

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more that are joining by the day.

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And you may ask yourself, why are we doing this?

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Well, we believe that a rising tide lifts all ships and

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history or die can be that tide.

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As a 20 year officer in the Navy, I joke with Jen that I might not

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know history better than her, but I do know how to bring people

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together and build those people up.

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The highlight of my Navy career is always seeing my sailors succeed and thrive,

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and that's what I'm hoping to do for History Creators with this new initiative.

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So often, people ask us about other History Creators.

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or good content to look for, and it can be tough to remember them all.

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Well, now you, or anybody else, can say go to historyordie.

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org.

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The internet's best history creators, all in one spot.

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Any support provided to the site through merchandise purchases will go

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right back to building the community and promoting these amazing creators.

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I hope you enjoy the community we have there at History or Die.

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Thank you.

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And as always, we rely on you, our community to grow, and we

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appreciate you all every day.

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We'll talk to you next time.