Where did the symbols originate for the donkey (Democratic party) and the elephant (Republican party)?
2007-10-05 07:14:12 · 10 answers · asked by katysru19 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
What do they mean?
2007-10-05 07:14:47 · update #1
Its really not a matter of what they mean, but why Nast used them.
Take a look at this short site for info:
http://www.c-span.org/questions/week174.htm
2007-10-05 07:18:30 · answer #1 · answered by Ice 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Donkey:
When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.
The first time the donkey was used in a political cartoon to represent the Democratic party, it was again in conjunction with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the Party's leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled "A Modern Baalim and his ***."
The Elephant— Political cartoonist Thomas Nast was also responsible for the Republican Party elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labelled "The Republican Vote." That's all it took for the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party
Also it could be it Means:
Democratic party are all ASSES
Republican party have big noses and never forget
2007-10-05 14:23:36 · answer #2 · answered by kevinmccleanblack 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
I can't remember the reason for the elephant for Republicans, but I think the donkey goes back Andrew Jackson's presidency. I think he was portrayed as a "jackass" in political cartoons, and out of spite, he turned it into the Democrat party's icon.
2007-10-05 14:20:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
Democratic donkey came from old broadsheet newspapers depicting them as 'stubborn as a mule', and the Republican elephant 'never forgets'.
2007-10-05 14:27:08 · answer #4 · answered by Galen W 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Thomas Nast.
2007-10-05 14:17:44 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This question gets asked a lot. They were used by Thom,as Nast in the mid-1800's in one of his political cartoons.
2007-10-05 14:16:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
thomas Nast
a cartoonist of the New York Times over a hundred years ago.
http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/off_year.htm
http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/kicking_lion.htm
2007-10-05 14:16:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/donkey-elephant.html
2007-10-05 14:21:21 · answer #8 · answered by Jacob W 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
it means Democrats are Jack A## and Republicans are strong party!!
2007-10-05 14:17:55 · answer #9 · answered by pjlisa13 4 · 0⤊ 6⤋
From their state of brains.
2007-10-05 14:19:03 · answer #10 · answered by Apparao V 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋