Join, or Die (Wikipedia) Join, or Die. is a political cartoon showing the disunity in the American colonies. Attributed to Benjamin Franklin, the original publication by The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754, is the earliest known pictorial representation of colonial union produced by an American colonist in Colonial America. It was based on a superstition that if a snake was cut in pieces and the pieces were put together before sunset, the snake would return to life.