English: "Cross Roads - Shall we go to Washington first, or How(e)?". Cartoon depicting Charles Tupper and Joseph Howe, two 19th century political leaders of Nova Scotia.

Sir Charles Tupper was a pro-Confederation politician in Nova Scotia (serving as Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867 and as Prime Minister of Canada in 1896), and he is often credited with having done more than any other public figure to induce his native province to enter Confederation in 1867. Joseph Howe (premier of Nova Scotia from 1860 to 1863, a member of the Canadian federal cabinet from 1869 to 1873, and the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1873) was the leader of the anti-Confederate movement in Nova Scotia. Although Howe never favoured any form of union with the United States for Nova Scotia (in fact, by 1868 he recognized the futility of ongoing efforts to repeal Confederation), he was suspected in some quarters of a preference for annexation to the United States.

In the cartoon, Nova Scotia (depicted as a young woman named "Acadia") is shown choosing between two options (represented by Tupper and Howe), with the artist showing that the advantages are all in the way that leads "to Ottawa".