Join, or Die
This iconic illustration, commonly associated with the American Revolution, was originally published in The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754 and has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin was an owner and publisher of the paper.
The illustration called upon the British and colonies to unite against the French and their Indian allies during the French and Indian War. It was used again during the American Revolution to urge solidarity against Britain and republished in many newspapers.
![Join, or Die "Join or Die," illustration attributed to Benjamin Franklin and originally published in The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754. The illustration represented the peril of the British colonies not uniting against the French and Indians during the French and Indian War. The illustration was used again during the American Revolution to urge colonists to unite against the British, and it was republished in many newspapers.](https://ncpedia.org/sites/default/files//styles/anchor_images/public/images/digital_history_textbook/franklin-benjamin_joinordie_illustration_1754.jpg?itok=ApoyM1zS)
Franklin, Benjamin. "Join, or Die." Illustration. In The Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), May 9, 1754. Item LC-USZC4-5315, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Collection. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695523/
Public Domain
Public Domain is a copyright term that is often used when talking about copyright for creative works. Under U.S. copyright law, individual items that are in the public domain are items that are no longer protected by copyright law. This means that you do not need to request permission to re-use, re-publish or even change a copy of the item. Items enter the public domain under U.S. copyright law for a number of reasons: the original copyright may have expired; the item was created by the U.S. Federal Government or other governmental entity that views the things it creates as in the public domain; the work was never protected by copyright for some other reason related to how it was produced (for example, it was a speech that wasn't written down or recorded); or the work doesn't have enough originality to make it eligible for copyright protection.