History has also shown us that even negative drawings can become the images that we
identify as our political parties. As Sam Abramson explains in “Why are a donkey and an
elephant the symbols of the Democratic and Republican Parties?” just how these
symbols came to be. Another famous political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, has been credited with the original
inspiration for these symbols, the donkey and the elephant. The first of these cartoons appeared in 1870, with an image of a donkey, labeled copperhead press, kicking a dead lion that represents the deceased Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's secretary of war. The copperheads were northern democrats who were opposed to the civil war. This was a clear
image on the idea of the copperheads and using the death of the secretary of war
to almost show there constant attacks on him even after his passing.
identify as our political parties. As Sam Abramson explains in “Why are a donkey and an
elephant the symbols of the Democratic and Republican Parties?” just how these
symbols came to be. Another famous political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, has been credited with the original
inspiration for these symbols, the donkey and the elephant. The first of these cartoons appeared in 1870, with an image of a donkey, labeled copperhead press, kicking a dead lion that represents the deceased Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's secretary of war. The copperheads were northern democrats who were opposed to the civil war. This was a clear
image on the idea of the copperheads and using the death of the secretary of war
to almost show there constant attacks on him even after his passing.
The donkey was used again on Nov. 7 1884 titled “Third Term Panic” with the donkey
now dressed as a lion and running through the forest scaring all the other
animals. This was to represent the democrat’s view, or fear of, president Grants
possible third term. This was another image to show that the democrats thought
they were a “ferocious predator but were actually foolish and harmless in their
panic.” While the donkey was used to target specific members of the Democratic
press, not the whole party, the symbol remained with Democrats. From a few
simple cartoons, Nast was able to label the entire party by the end of the
1880s.
now dressed as a lion and running through the forest scaring all the other
animals. This was to represent the democrat’s view, or fear of, president Grants
possible third term. This was another image to show that the democrats thought
they were a “ferocious predator but were actually foolish and harmless in their
panic.” While the donkey was used to target specific members of the Democratic
press, not the whole party, the symbol remained with Democrats. From a few
simple cartoons, Nast was able to label the entire party by the end of the
1880s.
Now by the negative use of the donkey and democrats, one would think that
Nast was Republican, but that is only half right. In the same image “Third Term
Panic” Nast portrayed the Republican Party as an elephant, but the elephant is
in a panic, running in fear towards a pit labeled inflation and chaos. While Nast has always been a loyal
Republican, he was frustrated with the republicans in the 1870s, because he
believed the party had strayed from social liberalism. Because of “third term
panic” picture, the public had identified the political parties as the elephant
and the donkey and still do to current day.