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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
The American Rattle Snake
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

The American Rattle Snake

Artifact IDMO 1974.293
Object Type Cartoon
Artist (British, 1756 - 1815)
Publisher (British, c.1740 - c.1810)
Date1782
Mediumpaper
Dimensionsframe H 11 7/8 in x W 15 15/16 in x D 7/8 in (30.2 cm x 40.5 cm x 2.2 cm )
Physical DescriptionA black and white etching, attributed to James Gillray, of an 18th century cartoon. It depicts a large, coiled rattlesnake in coils. Within two of the coils are surrendering troops of the British army under Generals Cornwallis and Burgoyne at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 18, 1781. A sign hanging on the snake’s tail reads: An / Apartment / to lett for / Military Gen / -tlemen. Written on the snake's extended tongue: Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn'd. / And room for more I've got behind. Below the illustration is a verse: Britons within the Yankee Plains, / Mind how ye March & Trench, / The Serpent in the Congress reigns, / As well as in the French. The title of the cartoon is centered below the image: The AMERICAN RATTLE SNAKE. Published April 12th, 1782 by W. Humphrey, NO. 227 Strand.

The print is glazed and framed in a modern 7/8" stained wood frame with gilt liner.
Historical NoteThe rattlesnake became a symbol of the American colonies after Benjamin Franklin used the serpent in his well-known "Join or Die" cartoon from 1754. At the end of the American Revolutionary War, as the United States and Great Britain were negotiating a peace treaty, British cartoonists used the rattlesnake to portray the U.S. as vindictive yet powerful.
Additional Details
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPolitical Cartoons (National Archives Identifier 749653)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view