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Join or Die
On May 9th, 1754, Benjamin Franklin published one of the most famous cartoons in history: the Join or Die woodcut. Franklin’s art carried significant importance at the time and is considered an early masterpiece of political messaging. -
Paul Revere's Engraving of the Boston Massacre
On the evening of March 5, sailors began to pelt British soldiers with snowballs and rocks. Several soldiers fired their weapons. When it was over, five civilians lay dead or dying. Produced just three weeks after the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s historic engraving “The Bloody Massacre in King-Street” was probably the most effective piece of war propaganda in American history. https://ap.gilderlehrman.org/resource/paul-revere%27s-engraving-boston-massacre-1770 -
Boston Tea Party
On December 16, 1773, over one hundred American colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-boston-tea-party -
Thomas Paine: Common Sense
Published in 1776, Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. https://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense1.htm -
Signing of the Declaration of Independance
The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript