Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" cartoon was effective, in my opinion, as it drew on a popular belief at the time, about a sliced snake that would come revive if its parts were put together during the night; on the other hand, the symbolical image of the split and sliced America under foreign influence was widely intelligible. The initials of the states helped the viewer identify the parts. The message was clear - if those regions don't unite as soon as possible, they will stay dead forever.
