“Boston tea party......1773.
Don’t Tread on Me!... 1775.
Close enough.” [tet68, post 26]
The snake motif for the American Colonies predates the Boston Tea Party and the Gadsden Flag.
In May 1754, Benjamin Franklin published a woodcut of a snake cut into eight segments, with the caption “JOIN, or DIE.” There were only eight segments because New England was represented as a single segment (it was four colonies at the time), Delaware was lumped in with Pennsylvania, and Georgia was simply left out.
The cartoon was revived in the mid-1760s to urge greater Colonial unity in response to British oppression. Franklin, a serious Anglophile until 1774, initially opposed the use of his image in this way.
Since then, it’s been revived and put to use by a number of political causes (including both sides in the American Civil War), entertainment venues, films, TV shows, and even video games. Suitably redrawn and relabeled.
Join or Die...
Predates
Don’t Tread on Me
by 20yrs.
Thanks