Join Or Die Cartoon

Why did Franklin believe that the French were going to win the war?

Franklin believed that the French were going to win the war because the colonies were disunited from each other. Each colony had its own governor and refused to become one empire. Also because there was a pretty big distance between Britain and the colonies so it was hard to get orders across to them. Another reason was that the French was one unified force whereas the British and colonists were split and it was hard to get all the parts together to make a plan.

What actions did Franklin state the French & Indians were taking towards the British / Colonists?

He stated that they were murdering and scalping the colonists and they were so terrified that they were abandoning their land and plantations. Also the Indians were taking the Fort. The French and Indians took British land as they wanted which they were permitted to do. Essentially, they are bullying the colonists and British out of their land.

ANALYSIS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Why was the cartoon created?

The cartoon was created so that the colonies would know that they would work better together than apart. If they fight the French and Indians apart like they were, they were sure to lose. But if they had united together, they might have had a chance to win.

What is the symbolic meaning of the cartoon?

One idea of the symbolism with Franklin using the snake is that the colonies were very narrow and so it a snake's body. Each segment represents a region or a colony within the thirteen. The division of the colonies are a representation of how they were "divided over the war."

Why are there only 8 colonies included?

Only eight colonies were included because the territory of New England was counted as one united colony. The New England colonies worked together so they were counted as one.

How else was the cartoon used?

The cartoon was used and published at many times. It was used throughout the American Revolution and worked well because the colonies were split on that issue as well. Most of the time it was used, it was changed and redrawn and the meaning was changed just a little bit. It was also used in the Civil War and there were two versions. One for the Confederacy and one for the Union.


What is the message Franklin is trying to express in the cartoon?

He is trying to express that unless the colonists band together and become one united country, they were going to lose the French and Indian War. He knew that if they were separated they would have no chance of survival. The quote "United we stand, divided we fall" comes to mind when I think of what Benjamin Franklin was trying to convey to the colonists.

How has Franklin's message changed over time?

Franklin's message was changed because people took it differently than he had wished. His original moral was that "that the Colonies may be ruined, but that Britain would thereby be maimed." From that cartoon, people could have though that it meant that the colonies would break away from Britain if they fought them. Over time it could have been changed and used during the American Revolution.

Slavery

In 1619 the first Africans were brought to the New World by the Dutch. They were traded for food. Originally they were used as indentured servants and so were English people. Indentured servants were by race. Anyone could be a servant. They worked off their debt to the person that brought them to the New World. As the labor started to get harder, people didn't want to work. That's when slavery began. The first Africans were protected by Christianity and could not become slaves. Slaves could be of any race. In 1640, three servants run away. 2 were white and one was African. The white servants got years added on to their contracts. The African got a life sentence as a slave. In a short period of time slavery had shifted from non-Christians to non-whites.

People started buying a male slave and a female slave so they could bear children and the master would inherit them as slaves. If you were born into a slave family, you were automatically a slave. Free African servants could become slaves as well. No one knew you were free. They could just go up to someone and be like "I want to sell my slave" and you would be sold. The English made the Africans slaves because they were easy to identify.

Massachusetts was the first state to recognize slavery as being legal in 1641. Connecticut recognized it in 1650, Virginia in 1661, Maryland in 1663,and New York and New Jersey in 1664.

Slaves were treated very different than everyone else. If a slave owner killed a slave, it was legal because a slave was considered property. Government doesn't care what you do with your property so it didn't matter to them. In 1691 a law was passed that if was illegal to free a black slave.

In the short time between indentured servants of every race, to slaves, to black slaves, a lot of people's views were changed. Still to this day, some people look down on black people and how they were slaves. Some people are still so racists as to think that we should still have slaves.

French and Indian War Blog

1. What events occurred prior to the war that increased tensions between the British and the colonists?
Prior to the war, a couple events occurred to make tensions high between the British and the colonists. One was that the British tried to use the Navigation Acts to stop trade between the colonies and any other place but themselves. The colonists were angry because the English were charging a higher price for their products and they had no choice but to buy them. When the colonists went against these acts, the king took away their charter, making it under total power. This turned the Northern Colonies into the Dominion of New England which didn't sit well. They were no longer independent. A governor was placed in control and they were strict ad persecuted anyone who didn't follow the acts.

2. What problems were created by the war: political and economic
There were a couple political problems caused by the war. One was that the same piece of land was promised to two different parties. They fought over them and that's what started the war. Because the British got the land, the Indians and French have grudges and will probably seek revenge. They are not happy with the colonists and tensions are high with them. Economically Britain and the colonies are struggling. Britain has the largest debt nationally and no way to pay for it. The put some acts to use and tax the colonists are basically everything. The colonists don't like it and tensions are high between them as well.

3. What of the outcome had been different?
I think that if the outcome was different and the French and Indians won the war, things would still be about the same. Britain would still have a huge debt and tax the colonists and they would be angry and thinking about rebelling. Also I think that tensions would still be high between the French, Indians, and British. This is because Britain and the colonists would be mad that they didn't get the land and hold a grudge. Just like the French and Indians did.

Themes of Early Colonial Time

There were many themes in the early colonial time period. One was religion. The colonists left England so they could have religious freedom and when they got to the New World, people like John Winthrop took that away from them. He wanted the people to practice religion just like he did. If they didn't, he kicked them out just like Anne Hutchinson.

Exploitation was another prominent theme. The English settlers exploited the Indians. They gave them alcohol to leave them helpless while they took their land. Also they brought them to trial and killed a lot of them unfairly.

Conflict came up a lot as well. Whenever it was, the natives were almost always fighting with the English. They had wars, fought over land, fought over crime, and many other things too. Also, the English had conflict between themselves. They fought about religion and land and power.

I think that these were the three most important themes. Some others include money, greed, perfection, power,equality, and inequality.

I also think that the activity on Twitter was very useful to our classroom discussion. If we were just to talk in class i don't think everyone would have said what was on their mind to everyone else. I definitely know that I felt more comfortable talking through Twitter than I would've in the classroom. We should do more discussions like this throughout the year.

Middle Colonies Newspaper Project

Anne Hutchinson

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was meant to be a role model for future settlements in the New World. John Winthrop made a speech to the settlers before they even landed. He explained to them that they would be a "city upon a hill." They would be everything that every other settlement would want to be.

John Winthrop's vision of the colony was to have it be perfect in the eyes of others. He wanted it to be a "city upon a hill" and a role model. He wanted people to want to live there because it was so great. John wanted other settlements to model themselves after the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He wanted the settlers to not mess up or God would plague and punish them.

Mr. John Winthrop was very much against Mrs. Hutchinson. He believed that she should be kicked out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He thought that she was disrupting their society by teaching religion different than the Reverends. Winthrop thought that she should stop having men and women come into her home and have meetings and teaching. He also thinks that she is not qualified to do the teachings of the Lord. Another reason John wanted her out was that she was claiming that she spoke directly to the Lord. Dept. Gov. Th. Dudley said that religious dissension in MA was caused by Anne and that she was threatening the colony's very existence. The Reverends were claiming that Anne criticized other ministers for teaching a covenant of works and claimed they were unfit to give spiritual leadership.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony became hypocritical when they kicked Anne Hutchinson out. When the settlers went to the New World, they expected to have religious freedom. That was also the reason why they left England. John Winthrop and others took that right away and made them practice a covenant of works and they could not practice with Anne or anyone else that did not teach that way.

Bacon's Rebellion

Governor Berkeley only thought of the plantation owners and the rich colonists. He never helped out the poorer colonists. When Nathaniel Bacon decided to go to Berkeley about funding a war, he was shot down. Berkeley would not fund the war to help the poor colonists. Against the Governor's orders, Bacon led a group of people to fight the Indians.
During Bacon's Rebellion, the colonists set fore to the town of Jamestown. Berkeley left by ship with other plantation owners. Bacon and his army entered an alliance with the Occaneechee Indians because they were enemies with the Susquehannock as well. After torturing them, Bacon turned on the Occaneechee Indians and killed and tourtured them too.
Bacon was known as a hero to the poor colonists after he led this rebellion.