Discover the History of Political Party Mascots
Why the Elephant and the Donkey?
Dive into the fascinating history of political party mascots, uncovering how the donkey and elephant became symbols for Democrats and Republicans. Learn about Thomas Nast's influence and the evolution of these icons in U.S. politics. Explore the origins and discover why these mascots hold such significance today, making history engaging and memorable.
Thomas Nast
Many sources credit Thomas Nast with the invention of the donkey as representing the Democratic party and the elephant representing the Republican party. Nast was a prominent caricaturist in the 1870s. His cartoon below from 1874 shows the donkey dressed in a lion's skin scaring all the animals but the elephant, representing Republican voters.
The Donkey and Andrew Jackson
However representing the democrats with a "jackass" can be dated back to the 1920s and particularly the successful 1928 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. Jackson flipped this blatant insult by openly adopting the donkey mascot as representing his strength and stubbornness. So the cartoons that established the elephant as Republican partially responded to the donkey's pre-existing status as Democratic.
The Elephant
The Elephant has also been around for about a decade as a symbol employed to represent Republicans especially in a pro-Lincoln newsletter called "Father Abraham". The elephant symbolized battle, and Nast's cartoons cemented its connection to the party.
References
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Monaghan, J. (1944). Origin of Political Symbols. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), 205-212.
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Yamshchikov, I. P., & Rezagholi, S. (2018). Elephants, donkeys, and colonel blotto. arXiv preprint arXiv:1805.12083.