Thomas Nast, a fiercely loyal republican was the man responsible for creating the iconic republican elephant and the democratic donkey. He first published them in a cartoon for Harpers Bazaar in the mid 19th century. At the time, cartoons were a major part of propaganda for political parties. Even as political leaders and platforms have changed, the symbols remain today.
So why the elephant and the donkey?
In his first cartoon, Nast chose the donkey for the Democratic Party simply because it depicted a "jackass". His first political cartoon depicted a donkey kicking a lion (representing the Democratic Party kicking the Lincoln administration). This would clearly be anti-democratic, pro-republican. Nast was actually seen as a reviver of the symbol, as anti-jacksonians 30 years earlier used the donkey to depict the democratic Andrew Jackson as a jackass.
The choice of the elephant is unclear, but one possible theory is that it would symbolize and big, powerful creature and imply the phrase "seeing the elephant", sparking memories of a union victory during the civil war.
Both parties eventually embraced the symbols, leading to the iconic republican elephant and democratic donkey.
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ReplyDeleteHey Caroline! I must start off by saying that I truly appreciate the title of this blog post, there's nothing like a good pun to get me really excited to read about history!!! I tried to look into the origin of the elephant, and I read that in another political cartoon, the Democratic Donkey was scaring away all of the other animals at the zoo, one of which was an elephant, labeled “The Republican Vote,” which ended up sticking. I have always wondered how the political parties got their mascots, and it's very interesting to know that they started off as satirical cartoon characters but ended up being embraced by the parties. Even today, the Democrats claim that donkeys are smart and brave, and Republicans say their elephant is strong and dignified.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0881985.html
Hahah party animals... I enjoyed that more than I should have. However it was very a very interesting read, and I'm glad you wrote this post. However, I ponder what other animals could represent the parties maybe even better than these. Maybe a migrating bird to show the progressiveness of today's democratic party, and something to represent the emphasis on leadership of the republican party. I think its an interesting thing to think about.
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing this article. It helps show us how we as the people view our parties, the politicians that support us and what influence they have on our lives then and now. And Nathan brings up a cool point of what we would choose for the Democratic and Republican Party now again showing how we would view the politicians who represent us. Some people would still call the Democrats jackasses, and maybe somebody would call them the graceful Heron.
ReplyDeleteGreat question Nathan! I did some additional research and found this. It's really quite funny and has some suggestions for alternative political mascots! Thanks for bringing that up.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/political-animals-republican-elephants-and-democratic-donkeys-89241754/
Thanks for posting this information Caroline! I've actually always wondered about the history of the party animals but never bothered to research it... Not sure this is relevant but I find it rather ironic that the elephant is such a revered animal, yet the people of the continents from which it originated were originally looked down on for so long by the Europeans.
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