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The Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant
When, in 1828, Andrew Jackson established the Democratic party and ran for president using the populist slogan, "Let the people rule", his opponents thought him silly and labeled him a "jackass". Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. Over the years this donkey has become the accepted symbol of the Democratic party.
The symbol of the Republican party in 1874 was born in the imagination of the cartoonist, Thomas Nash, in Harper's Weekly. Soon other cartoonists used the elephant to symbolize Republicans, and eventually, Republicans adopted the elephant as their official symbol. |