Us Election: Why A Republican Elephant And Democratic Donkey
The US has two main political parties – the Republicans and the Democrats.
Every president since 1853 has belonged to one of these two political parties.
They both have different ideas about how the country should be run, and they also have different animals that represent them.
The Republican party is represented by an elephant and the Democratic party is recognised by the symbol of a donkey.
But why is this?
Well, it is thought the Republican elephant was first used like this by an Illinois newspaper during Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election campaign – perhaps as a symbol of strength, although it is still debated.
It was then made popular after a man called Thomas Nast – who was a Republican – drew it in a cartoon in a magazine in 1874.
As for the Democratic donkey, it is thought this was first used during a presidential campaign in 1828, after the candidate Andrew Jackson used it on his posters because of a nickname his opponents gave him.
Again, Thomas Nast later used the cartoon animal to represent the Democrats and it became a popular symbol for the party by the end of the 19th century.
The Democratic Party General Policy And Political Values
The Democratic Party generally represents left-leaning, liberal and progressive ideological values, thus advocating for a strong government to regulate business and support for the citizens of the United States. Thus, one of the key values emphasized by Democrats is social responsibility. Overall, Democrats believe that a prominent and powerful government can ensure welfare and equality for all. Much like the Republican Party, political opinions within the Democratic Party stretch across a wide spectrum, as both parties are, to a large degree, decentralized. However, from a general point of view, Democrats tend to support heavy taxation of high-income households. In comparison to Denmark, where taxes are generally high, the Democratic taxation policy may not seem excessive, but on a U.S. taxation scale these tax percentages are in the heavy end.
Why Are An Elephant And A Donkey The Party Symbols
The Democratic party is often associated with the colour blue and the donkey mascot.
That dates back to Democratic candidate Andrew Jacksons 1828 presidential campaign, when opponents called him a jackass for his stubbornness.
Instead of taking the nickname as an insult, Jackson embraced it and used the donkey image on his election posters.
It was then quickly adopted by newspapers and political cartoonists.
The Republicans elephant symbol came along years later.
Many believe it came about, in part, due to a widely used expression during the Civil War led by Republican president Abraham Lincoln.
Soldiers entering battle were said to be seeing the elephant a phrase that means learning a hard lesson, often with a profound cost.
The symbol was then popularised by political cartoonist Thomas Nast; an early rendition featured in the 1879 edition of Harpers Weekly.
Both symbols are still largely used for political campaigns.
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Why Do The Republicans Have A Donkey
Mr Nast was also responsible for linking the Republican Party to the elephant logo during the 1870s.;
The political cartoonist repeatedly used the symbol of an elephant to represent the Republican vote and Republicans. ;
In one cartoon in 1874, he drew an image of a elephant – which was labelled as the Republican voter – running scared towards a pit of chaos.;
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A donkey in lions clothing represents the Democratic press – suggesting that the media were acting a fear mongers. The Democratic Party is shown as a sly fox. ;
The caption read: An ass, having put on the Lions skin, roamed about in the forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings.;
Another cartoon in 1876 showed the Republican vote – represented by Uncle Sam riding an elephant – walking over the Democratic Tiger.;
Unlike the Democrats, the Republican Party has adopted the elephant as its official symbol.
The Democratic Party And Health Care Coverage
While Democrats believe that health care should make birth control and abortions affordable to all women, they also support providing financial aid to women who cannot financially support carrying a baby to term. They believe that every pregnant woman should be supported, by providing affordable health care and ensuring the availability of and access to programs that help women during pregnancy and after the birth of a child, including caring adoption programs. They believe that the way to join 36 other industrialized nations in making sure everyone has access to affordable health care is with health care reform. They hope to do this by fixing the prescription drug program and investing in stem cell and other medical research. On the topic of stem cell research, Democrats state, we believe in investing in life saving stem cell and other medical research that offers real hope for cures and treatment for millions of Americans.
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Why Are An Elephant And A Donkey The Republican And Democratic Party Symbols
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THE elephant and the donkey represent the US party systems since 1828 and 1854.
The popularity of the animals rose due to political cartoons at the time to represent the two-party system.;
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The Elephant Vs Donkey Argument
The elephant vs donkey argument doesnt give a complete insight into the Republican and Democratic symbols. Of course, these animals do say a lot about the two groups.;
Today, the Democrats and Republicans use similar designs for their mascot, each featuring red, white, and blue coloring. The major differences between the two images are the animal being portrayed, and the number of stars.
The Democrat donkey features a set of four stars, with the points facing upwards. Its also worth noting the donkey faces to the left, indicating the central-left views of the Group.;
The Republican party elephant, on the other hand, features three stars, with the points facing downwards. In this case, the animal is facing right, demonstrating the right-wing views of the Group.
The coloring used for both icons are almost exactly the same, intended to represent the American flag. As you might imagine with two symbols for political parties, the elephant and donkey emblems have been the source of a great deal of conversation and debate over the years.;
Even when slight changes are made to the design, it can spark a lot of controversy.;
When the Republicans decided to turn their stars upside down, many people said it made the icons look more satanic.;
Alongside the elephant and donkey, Nast is also well-known for the Tammany Tiger, which the artist also showcased in an edition of the Harpers Weekly magazine.;
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From Watergate To A New Millennium
From 1972 to 1988 the Democrats lost four of five presidential elections. In 1972 the party nominated antiwar candidate George S. McGovern, who lost to Nixon in one of the biggest landslides in U.S. electoral history. Two years later the Watergate scandal forced Nixons resignation, enabling Jimmy Carter, then the Democratic governor of Georgia, to defeat Gerald R. Ford, Nixons successor, in 1976. Although Carter orchestrated the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, his presidency was plagued by a sluggish economy and by the crisis over the kidnapping and prolonged captivity of U.S. diplomats in Iran following the Islamic revolution there in 1979. Carter was defeated in 1980 by conservative Republican Ronald W. Reagan, who was easily reelected in 1984 against Carters vice president, Walter F. Mondale. Mondales running mate, Geraldine A. Ferraro, was the first female candidate on a major-party ticket. Reagans vice president, George Bush, defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis in 1988. Despite its losses in the presidential elections of the 1970s and 80s, the Democratic Party continued to control both houses of Congress for most of the period .
Political Animals: Republican Elephants And Democratic Donkeys
Politicians and parties may flip-flop but for more than 100 years, the political iconography of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant has remained unchanged
Typical contemporary illustrations of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant
In a few days, America will elect our next president. Its been a particularly contentious and divisive campaign, with party lines not so much drawn as carved: red states vs. blue states; liberals vs. conservatives; Republicans vs. Democrats. While party platforms change and politicians adapt their beliefs in response to their constituency and their poll numbers, one thing has remained consistent for more than 100 years: the political iconography of the democratic donkey and the republican elephant.
The 1870;Harpers cartoon credited with associating the donkey and the Democratic Party
On January 15, 1870, Nast published the cartoon that would forever link the donkey to the Democrat. A few ideas should be clear for the cartoon to make sense: First, republican and democrat meant very different things in the 19th century than they do today ; jackass pretty much meant the exact same thing then that it does today; and Nast was a vocal opponent of a group of Northern Democrats known as Copperheads.
An 1837 lithograph depicting the first appearance of the Democratic donkey.
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The Republican And Democratic Logos
No matter how you feel about the Democratic and Republican parties, their logos are impossible to ignore. Known throughout the world for their color choices, mascots, and more, the two leading US parties have made their mark on history.;
Today, the elephant and donkey are still recognisable outside of the United States.;
If youre keen to learn more about the political party logos, or some of the other emblems famous for shaping our world, you can check out some of our other insightful logo blogs here on the Fabrik website.;
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
Era Of Good Feelings 18171825
Monroe believed that the existence of political parties was harmful to the United States, and he sought to usher in the end of the Federalist Party by avoiding divisive policies and welcoming ex-Federalists into the fold. Monroe favored infrastructure projects to promote economic development and, despite some constitutional concerns, signed bills providing federal funding for the National Road and other projects. Partly due to the mismanagement of national bank president William Jones, the country experienced a prolonged economic recession known as the Panic of 1819. The panic engendered a widespread resentment of the national bank and a distrust of paper money that would influence national politics long after the recession ended. Despite the ongoing economic troubles, the Federalists failed to field a serious challenger to Monroe in the 1820 presidential election, and Monroe won re-election essentially unopposed.
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Republican View On Healthcare
Republicans take pretty much the opposite view of Democrats. Traditionally dedicated to the notion that less government is better government, and the free market makes adjustments on its own without regulation, the party has fought every reform the Democrats have enacted. Much of this comes down to their traditional diametrically opposed notions of what is best for Americans. Citing freedom of choice and the sacrosanct doctor-patient relationship, predicting huge losses to the economy in general, arguing that the ACA doesnt work despite years of evidence to the contrary, the GOP would rather scrap it and go with the status quo as it stood before the ACA was passed. Their key phrase is Why should healthy people pay more to cover sick and poor people?
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What Does Republican Mean
The word republicanmeans of, relating to, or of the nature of a republic. Similarly to the word democratic, the word republican also describes things that resemble or involve a particular form of government, in this case the government in question is a republic. A republic is a government system in which power rests with voting citizens who directly or indirectly choose representatives to exercise political power on their behalf.;
You may have noticed that a republic sounds a lot like a democracy. As it happens, most of the present-day democracies are also republics. However, not every republic is democratic and not every democratic country is a republic.
For example, the historical city-state of Venice had a leader known as a doge who was elected by voters. In the case of Venice, though, the voters were a small council of wealthy traders, and the doge held his position for life. Venice and other similar mercantile city-states had republican governments, but as you can see, they were definitely not democratic. At the same time, the United Kingdom is a democratic country that has a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and so it is not a republican country because it is not officially a republic.;
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How Did The Us Political Parties Get Their Mascots
- Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 3:15pm
- Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 5:15pm
The donkey and the elephant have been the long-serving animal mascots of the United States’;two major political parties, but how did the animals;become such iconic symbols of American democracy?
The Democrats’ donkey is the older of the two symbols, said historian Ken Davis, author of “Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned.” The donkey;emerged in 1828 as a kind of insult towards the famously stubborn Democrat Andrew Jackson.
“Andrew Jackson was called a jackass. But he kind of liked it and adopted ‘Jackass Jackson’ as a name,” Davis said.;”He was quite comfortable with that idea. And it was not long before the donkey became established as the symbol of the Democratic Party.”
The GOP’s elephant came along years later. The Republican Party wasn’t founded until 1854 in Ripon.;The Republican Party grew out of splintered groups that had fractured over the years, including the Whig Party, the Know Nothing Party and other abolitionist coalitions.
“The idea of the elephant was actually discussed at that time, but the image didn’t really come about until the 1870s,” Davis said.;”And it’s really Thomas Nast, the famous American political cartoonist;who really firms up both of these images in his cartoons, and they become completely linked with the two separate parties by that point.”
Energy Issues And The Environment
There have always been clashes between the parties on the issues of energy and the environment. Democrats believe in restricting drilling for oil or other avenues of fossil fuels to protect the environment while Republicans favor expanded drilling to produce more energy at a lower cost to consumers. Democrats will push and support with tax dollars alternative energy solutions while the Republicans favor allowing the market to decide which forms of energy are practical.
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History Of The Democratic Party
The party can trace its roots all the way back to Thomas Jefferson when they were known as Jeffersons Republicans and they strongly opposed the Federalist Party and their nationalist views. The Democrats adopted the donkey as their symbol due to Andrew Jackson who was publicly nicknamed jackass because of his popular position of let the people rule. The Democratic National Committee was officially created in 1848. During the civil war a rift grew within the party between those who supported slavery and those who opposed it. This deep division led to the creation of a new Democratic party, the one we now know today.
How The Republican And Democratic Parties Got Their Animal Symbols
The Democratic Partys donkey and the Republican Partys elephant have been on the political scene since the 19th century. The origins of the Democratic donkey can be traced to the 1828 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. During that race, opponents of Jackson called him a jackass. However, rather than rejecting the label, Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, was amused by it and included an image of the animal in his campaign posters. Jackson went on to defeat incumbent John Quincy Adams and serve as Americas first Democratic president. In the 1870s, influential political cartoonist Thomas Nast helped popularize the donkey as a symbol for the entire Democratic Party.
READ MORE: How Andrew Jackson Became America’s First ‘Outsider’ President
The Republican Party was formed in 1854 and six years later Abraham Lincoln became its first member elected to the White House. An image of an elephant was featured as a Republican symbol in at least one political cartoon and a newspaper illustration during the Civil War , but the pachyderm didnt start to take hold as a GOP symbol until Thomas Nast, whos considered the father of the modern political cartoon, used it in an 1874 Harpers Weekly cartoon.;
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Taking The Perspective Of Others Proved To Be Really Hard
The divide in the United States is wide, and one indication of that is how difficult our question proved for many thoughtful citizens. A 77-year-old Republican woman from Pennsylvania was typical of the voters who struggled with this question, telling us, This is really hard for me to even try to think like a devilcrat!, I am sorry but I in all honesty cannot answer this question. I cannot even wrap my mind around any reason they would be good for this country.
Similarly, a 53-year-old Republican from Virginia said, I honestly cannot even pretend to be a Democrat and try to come up with anything positive at all, but, I guess they would vote Democrat because they are illegal immigrants and they are promised many benefits to voting for that party. Also, just to follow what others are doing. And third would be just because they hate Trump so much. The picture she paints of the typical Democratic voter being an immigrant, who goes along with their party or simply hates Trump will seem like a strange caricature to most Democratic voters. But her answer seems to lack the animus of many.;;
Democrats struggled just as much as Republicans. A 33-year-old woman from California told said, i really am going to have a hard time doing this but then offered that Republicans are morally right as in values, going to protect us from terrorest and immigrants, going to create jobs.
