On May 9, 1754, the first political cartoon published in America appeared in Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin himself probably designed the woodcut, which shows a snake severed into pieces representing Britain’s American colonies.
The drawing was a reminder that the colonies must unite to defend themselves as they entered the French and Indian War. In an article accompanying the cartoon, Franklin warned of “the present disunited State of the British Colonies, and the extreme Difficulty of bringing so many different Governments and Assemblies to agree in any speedy and effectual Measures for our common Defense and Security.” Franklin may have chosen a snake because of a popular superstition that a snake that had been cut into pieces would come back to life if the pieces were joined before sunset.
Dozens of newspapers throughout the colonies reprinted the cartoon. Years later, as the Revolutionary War approached, the snake image became a favorite American symbol for unity and love of liberty.
Here's the drawing:
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