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| The Democratic Donkey The first reference to a Democrat as a donkey was during the Presidential election of 1828 when Andrew Jackson referred to him as "Andrew Jackass" because of his populist views. Jackson, however, turned the label to his advantage and began using it on campaign posters. The donkey would be used to represent Jackson's stubbornness during his Presidency. 1837 marked the first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to represent the party, again in conjunction with Jackson. Jackson was retired but saw himself as the Party leader. The cartoon showed Jackson trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go and was titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass." Thomas Nast is credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as the Democratic party symbol but he probably had no knowledge of the prior associations. Nast came to the United States with his parents in 1840, at the age of six. In 1870, he first used the donkey in a Harper's Weekly cartoon to represent the "Copperhead Press" kicking a dead lion, symbolizing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed but people liked the symbol and Nast continued to use it to indicate Democratic editors and newspapers. Later, when Nast used the donkey to portray Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses S. Grant, he helped to associate the elephant with the Republican party. Although the elephant had been used in cartoons in 1860 and 1872, it was this 1874 cartoon that made the elephant symbol stick.* Over the years, the donkey and the elephant have become the accepted symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties. Although the Democrats have never officially adopted the donkey as a party symbol, we have used various donkey designs on publications over the years. The Republicans have actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol and use their design widely. The Democrats think of the elephant as bungling, stupid, pompous and conservative -- but the Republicans think it is dignified, strong and intelligent. On the other hand, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn, silly and ridiculous -- but the Democrats claim it is humble, homely, smart, courageous and lovable. Adlai Stevenson provided one of the most clever descriptions of the Republican's symbol when he said, "The elephant has a thick skin, a head full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade knows, proceeds best by grasping the tail of its predecessor." Adopted from DNC Website * Further information on Nast's reference |
