Piecing Together "Join, or Die"
When you open a newspaper or browse a website today, you might see a political cartoon. These drawings use humor, symbols, and clever images to express opinions about current events. More than two hundred and seventy years ago, an American named Benjamin Franklin created one of the most famous political cartoons in history. Printed on May 9, 1754, in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, the image carried a bold warning: "Join, or Die."
The cartoon shows a snake divided into sections, each labeled with the name of a colony. Franklin’s picture argued that the colonies should cooperate as French pressure increased along their western frontier. Its image is simple, but its message is political: the colonies would be stronger if they acted together. The drawing reflects Franklin’s point of view, not every person’s view in the region.
Franklin published the cartoon as leaders debated how the colonies might work together. The Albany Congress met in June 1754, and Franklin supported a plan for a union of the colonies. The plan was rejected, but the cartoon remained memorable. The date and printed image are evidence of what Franklin proposed; they do not tell us that all colonists agreed with him.
- political cartoon:
- A drawing that uses humor, symbols, and art to show opinions about news and government.
- symbols:
- Pictures, objects, or signs that stand for an idea or meaning beyond themselves.
- frontier:
- A border region between settled communities and less developed areas.
- diplomacy:
- The skill or work of managing relations and agreements between different governments or nations.
- masthead:
- The title banner printed at the top of a newspaper's front page.
- viewpoint:
- A person's particular opinion, way of thinking, or perspective on an issue.
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Main Idea
Identify the central idea and explain how important details develop it.
Context Clues
Use clues in the passage to work out what words mean. A separate printable Vocabulary worksheet is also available.
Summarize
Select, organize, and restate the most important information without adding opinion.
Purpose
Analyze what the author aims to do and how choices serve audience and purpose.
Structure
Analyze how sections and organizational choices build the text's ideas or effects.
Fact & Opinion
Distinguish verifiable statements from judgments, beliefs, and preferences in context.
Vocabulary
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Writing Prompts
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is the main topic of the passage?
- 2Why did Benjamin Franklin draw the snake divided into sections?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“Piecing Together "Join, or Die"” is a explanatory article reading passage about Join, or Die Political Cartoon, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (351 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.