Feature Articles for July, 2008

Political Mascots:
Where Did They Come From?

Democratic mascot: In 1828, detractors of Andrew Jackson’s presidential campaign came up with the unflattering characterization label of donkey. It was co-opted by President Jackson who turned the donkey’s stubbornness, strength and unpolished manners into political virtues. In 1870, Thomas Nast, the best-known political cartoonist of that time, used the donkey to embody the Democratic Party in an illustration for Harper’s weekly.

Republican mascot: In 1874, Thomas Nast, depicted a Democratic donkey wearing a lion’s skin frightening other “political animals,” including an elephant representing the Republican vote. Nast used the elephant in later cartoons to stand in for the GOP. Eventually the Repub-lican Party adopted the elephant as its official symbol or service mark.

Watch for more fast facts in months approaching the presidential election.