Donkeys & Elephants? The Origins of U.S. Political Party Symbols

The origins of the donkey and elephant as symbols of the Democratic and Republican political parties in the U.S. were derived separately, but became synonymous with each other through the political cartoons of Thomas Nast, a caricaturist active in the latter half of the 19^th century. Nast is also credited, along with Clement Clark Moore, with popularizing the modern image of Santa Claus in the United States.

The Donkey

The donkey first appeared within the U.S. political lexicon during Andrew Jackson’s first presidential campaign in 1828. Jackson, who ran as a Democrat during the election—following the split between Jackson and the Democratic-Republican party—was referred to by his opponents as a “jackass” for his stubbornness and as a play on the similarity between “Jackson” and “jackass.” To the chagrin of his opponents, Jackson embraced the symbol of the donkey for its steadfast, determined, and willful nature as a symbol of his campaign.

The Elephant

The elephant first appeared in 1864—ten years after the establishment of the modern Republican party in an image in the newspaper, Father Abraham, in support of Republican President Abraham Lincoln. The image depicts a charging elephant and displays Union Army Civil War victories in various states. The elephant was chosen to reflect the term, “seeing the elephant,” which was used commonly amongst Union Army soldiers and meant to engage in combat.

The Donkey & Elephant Together

Thomas Nast first used the image of the donkey and elephant together to represent the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, in 1870, but his use of the two gained greatest recognition through his cartoon titled, “The Third Term Panic: An ass, having put on the Lion’s skin, roamed about in the forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings.” The cartoon shows the Republican party as an elephant, with the text “The Republican Vote” on it and the Democratic party as a donkey covered by a lion’s skin and inscribed with the word “Caesarism.” The donkey is shown scaring the elephant as well as several other creatures, including a fox representing the Democratic party itself.

Nast, a supporter of the Republican party, created the cartoon during the middle of Republican President Ulysses Grant’s second term as president as a response to what he viewed as fear mongering on the part of Democratic media regarding the potential of Grant running for a third term as president.