If you were an alien sitting in a
spaceship and the only signal you could pick up from us was the Thai newscast,
you may well think that there are only two countries on Earth: Thailand and the
United States of America. Here, all we hear about is Thai news and the
upcoming presidential election in the land of Uncle Sam.
Many things can be very surprising
(to say the least) when it comes to US politics; one of them is definitively
the party choices of animal emblems. On my left, the Democrats, represented by
a donkey, a creature universally known for embodying stubbornness and stupidity.
On my right, the Republicans, characterized by… an elephant. You may agree that
for the party claiming to be the most patriotic and USA-centered of the two,
choosing an animal that is not native from America or even the Western world is rather odd. So why is the elephant the symbol of the Republican
Party?
Surprisingly (or not..) the emblems
of the parties used to be other animals: the proud and US-born bald eagle for
the Republicans, and the rooster for the
Democrats. Donkeys and elephants only entered the political arena during the 19th
century.
The donkey made its debut in 1828,
when Andrew Jackson was running for president. His opponent had labeled him a
“jackass” [1] for using the slogan “Let the people rule”. Following the wise
words of Tyrion Lannister – “wear it like an armor and it cannot be used
against you”- 150 years before they were pronounced, Jackson adopted the insult
and carried it with pride, arguing that the creature was brave and strong
willed. The image reappeared in 1837, with Jackson riding the animal, in
an attempt to denounce his effort to influence the Party even after having left
the White House. However, the donkey's moment’s of fame was yet to come: on
January 15th 1870 was published a political cartoon depicting a
“Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion”. The donkey symbolized a certain category of
democrats called Copperhead Democrats. The drawing was published in the
Harper’s weekly and created by an extremely influent political cartoonist named
Thomas Nast. From this moment on, the donkey pursued its career as the –unofficial-
emblem of the Democratic Party, being increasingly used in caricatures,
speeches and even in person: in 2008 a very alive donkey called Mordecai was
crown Democratic National Convention mascot.
On to elephants now. Their first
appearance can be traced back to 1864 in an ad in support of Lincoln’s race to
the White House. However, the imagery didn’t stick until Thomas Nast published
another satirical drawing in the Harper’s weekly in 1876. Called “Third Term
Panic”, it depicted a donkey wearing a lion’s skin – the Copperhead Press –
scaring away an elephant labeled “the Republican Vote”. The cartoon was highly
successful, and Nast kept on using the symbol in following works. With time
passing, the Republicans adopted the animal and made it the official symbol of
their party. We are yet to see a live elephant being presented in the next
Republican National Convention.
It may be hard to understand why all
it took for donkeys and elephants to become political superstars was a couple
of cartoons published here and there. It
would be underestimating the political weight hold by Thomas Nast. An immigrant
from Germany and a school drop out with spelling problems, Nast was also highly
popular. He is
responsible for popularizing the images of Santa Claus and Uncle Sam that we
still use today. His acerb drawings were so influential during
presidential campaigns that his friend Mark Twain wrote to him: “Nast, you more than any other man
have won a prodigious victory for Grant—I mean, rather, for Civilization and
Progress.” With such a formidable manager, no wonder the elephant made it to the US.
[1] Yes, a jackass is a donkey. And also a penguin. Go figure.
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