It was an era when cartoonists had a great power, distilling complex political disputes for millions of readers. Though the details of the disputes may be largely forgotten — the fact that the symbols used in them are in still used to this day are testament to their power.
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US Markets Loading H M S In the news. Tom Porter. The donkey and elephant are widely known as symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties in the US. And while Nast depicted the Democratic Party as a donkey many times though in "Third Term Panic" it actually takes the shape of a fox , the two had been linked since the days of the Jackson administration half a century ago.
The Republican elephant made its first appearance in this cartoon by Thomas Nast. A fox in the bottom right corner represents the Democratic party. Like the best satirists, he ridiculed his own side almost as gleefully as he did his opponents' -- and so, he reimagined the GOP as a weak, panicky creature that was constantly lumbering off in the wrong direction, its size more of a liability than an asset.
Artists mark Trump's inauguration anniversary with day of protest art. Nast's donkeys fare no better; a typical cartoon from shows the stubborn beast dangling by the tail, about to fall into an abyss of "financial chaos.
In the s, Nast was the most feared artist in the country, the sworn enemy of crooks and swindlers on the right and the left alike. Then, in a Nast-y twist of fate worthy of his cartoons, he lost all his money in a Ponzi scheme, the kind of sleazy operation he'd spent his entire career cautioning against.
In , he tried to rebuild his fortune by publishing a book of Christmas illustrations. In this Nast cartoon, the Republican vote, represented by Uncle Sam riding an elephant, tramples a tiger representing the Democrats. By that point, however, he seems to have lost some of the creative momentum he'd gained at Harper's, and he spent the last decade of his life in poor health, painfully aware that his best work was long behind him.
Political art set to sweep billboards across 50 US states ahead of midterms. But the elephant and the donkey live on in political pageantry, thanks to Nast's ingenuity. To date, the elephant remains the official symbol of the Republican Party, and although the Democrats have yet to declare their own, you wouldn't need to walk more than a couple paces at one of their rallies before spotting a donkey.
Nast's influence ranged widely - he popularized Santa Claus as red-clad, plump and jolly previously Santa Claus was featured more as a religious figure and of a bearded, top-hatted Uncle Sam resembling President Lincoln.
In a number of political cartoons in the s, Nast adopted Jackson's donkey imagery for the Democratic Party, and the elephant for the Republicans. A Republican himself and friend of then-President Grant, Nast reportedly chose the donkey for its dull stubbornness, and the elephant for its dignity, intelligence and power when provoked.
I can't argue with Thomas Nast - I have long admired elephants for their memory, compassion, love of family and grace under pressure. The Democrat donkey and Republican elephant have remained in the American lexicon since the s. The Republican Party has officially adopted the elephant as its mascot; the Democrats have never officially adopted the donkey. While I will never be presented with an elephant, as President Reagan was by Sri Lanka in , I hope to proudly represent the Republican elephant for many years to come.
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