How Thomas Nast’s donkey and elephant became symbols of US election

On November 5, the United States will hold its 60th presidential election. Who will win this time? The donkey or the elephant? If you are unfamiliar with the presidential candidates' symbols in U.S. elections, you might wonder why these animals are even mentioned. But here’s the story: the donkey represents the Democrats, and the elephant represents the Republicans. But could a donkey really be a party symbol? If it were a tiger and an elephant, it might seem more fitting. Yet, for over 150 years, Democratic presidential candidates have been represented by the donkey.
The origin of the Democratic donkey traces back to Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States (1829–1837). Before the election, political opponents used to call him "Jackass," meaning donkey. A cartoonist at the time drew a caricature with Jackson’s head on a donkey’s body. The artist was Thomas Nast. The cartoon depicted Andrew Jackson’s head placed on a donkey’s body. While it could have been seen as insulting, Jackson embraced it, viewing it as a mark of his patience. He then declared that the donkey would be the official symbol of the Democratic Party.

Later, Thomas Nast created another cartoon that showed a donkey dressed in a lion’s skin scaring off all the animals in the forest. Despite their fear, one animal stood firmly without fleeing – the elephant. This courageous stance of the elephant resonated with the Republicans, who adopted it as their symbol. So, both the Democratic and Republican symbols come from the same artist’s work.
This makes Thomas Nast arguably one of history’s most influential cartoonists. But who was Thomas Nast? He was a German-born American, born in 1840 in Germany. His father, Joseph Thomas Nast, got into serious trouble with the authorities, so one day he sent his wife and son on a ship bound for New York. With his mother by his side, Thomas arrived in America in 1846. Historians say that growing up in New York City was extremely harsh for this refugee child. He endured various forms of bullying and mistreatment, shaping his cartoons as a tool for protest throughout his career.
In his cartoons, Nast sought to convey disdain for power and ridicule for oppression. This young boy eventually became known as the father of American political cartoons. From 1862 to 1886, he worked with Harper's Weekly and is regarded as America's first great political cartoonist. His satire was sharp as a knife. Politically, he was a fan of President Abraham Lincoln, identifying with the Republican Party.
By the 1880s, Thomas Nast was a fearsome figure in American politics. Both right and left feared his pen equally. He amassed considerable wealth from his work but lost it all in a single investment. In the 1890s, he attempted to regain some fortune by drawing Christmas-themed illustrations. He passed away in 1902 while traveling in Ecuador. To this day, Thomas Nast’s name is remembered in the U.S. election symbols he created.