Assignment task: A political cartoon shows a giant American rattle snaked curled around two British armies. A sign on the snake's tail reads, "An Apartment to Lett for Military Gentlemen." The snake says, "Two British Armies I have thus Burgoyn'd, And room for more I've got behind." The verse beneath reads, "Britons within the Yankeean Plains, Mind how ye March & Trench, The Serpent in the Congress reigns, As well as in the French."
At the start of the French and Indian War, Benjamin Franklin used the rattle snake to represent the American colonies in his cartoon, "Join or Die." The symbol stuck. Here, it appears in a British satirical cartoon. Using the cartoon above, answer (A), (B), and (C).
(A) In 2-3 sentences, explain the series of events that led to the Patriots' victory at Yorktown. How does the cartoon reflect conditions at the Battle of Yorktown?
(B) What was happening with the American Revolution when the cartoon was drawn? Your response should be 1-2 sentences in length.
(C) What perspective does the cartoonist offer on these conditions? What does the portrayal say about the United States? Your response should be 2-3 sentences in length.