{"id":17456,"date":"2020-08-22T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17456"},"modified":"2024-11-19T14:01:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T19:01:51","slug":"the-better-to-hear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=17456","title":{"rendered":"The Better To Hear?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas \u2013 <\/em>I got curious, and went on a search. When, I wondered, did the Democrats and Republicans begin using donkeys and elephants as party symbols? And more puzzling, WHY? A donkey, aka, JACKASS, with an annoying bray? And a big lumbering elephant who would surely eat you out of house and home if you let it in?<\/p>\n

Turns out the story actually does begin with somebody calling somebody a jackass. Andrew Jackson, back in the election of 1828, was depicted as being \u201cstubborn as a jackass\u201d and Andrew just flat turned it around and, with a donkey as a mascot, beat out John Quincy Adams! Remember, Adams became president in 1824, though Jackson had won the popular vote. But Jackson tried it again, and whupped Adams you-know-what. It was a landslide.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmascot\u201d idea didn\u2019t really catch on until the mid-1800\u2019s however, and I found some interesting examples of political cartoons. The first I\u2019ll share, with full credit to American Antiquarian<\/em>, explains what \u201cseeing the elephant\u201d generally referred to. Citation: \u201cJeff. Sees the Elephant,\u201d The News Media and the Making of America, 1730-1865, https:\/\/americanantiquarian.org\/earlyamericannewsmedia\/items\/show\/120<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Jeff. Sees the Elephant<\/strong><\/p>\n

This color lithograph published by E. B. & E. C. Kellogg of Hartford, Connecticut, and George Whiting of New York City dates from 1861 or 1862. It is believed to be the first time that the elephant and donkey appear together depicting the Republican and Democratic parties. The phrase \u201cto see the elephant\u201d was a common expression in the mid-nineteenth century and often appears in descriptions of both the gold rush and the Civil War. It is thought to originate with the circus. The large mammals such as lions and elephants were the climax of the circus experience and always appeared toward the end of the performances. When one had \u201cseen the elephant\u201d then one had seen the entire show. The term then gradually became synonymous with experiencing or\u201d seeing it all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In this image the elephant bedecked in formal attire with accessories festooned with stars and stripes and the U.S. Constitution in his pocket represents the Union. The cannon barrels protruding from his waistcoat, and the multitude of even more cannon and cannon balls behind him, represent the great military prowess of the Northern states. Eventually Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) took on the elephant as his mascot. By his reelection campaign in 1864, trunks and tusks were used in his campaign materials and \u201cthe elephant is coming\u201d became his slogan. Republicans have been associated with elephants ever since.<\/em><\/p>\n

This humorous image also contains Jefferson Davis (1808-89) as a donkey, peering through a monocle at the elephant and his enormous quantity of arms and armaments. Behind him is an army of \u201cjackasses\u201d carrying pitchforks, rakes, brooms, and scythes, which are clearly no match for the North\u2019s cannon. The gallows in the center background of the image portends a bleak future for the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was a lifelong Democrat, having served as a U. S. representative and senator before becoming president of the Confederacy after the South seceded. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A fellow named Thomas Nast (1840 \u2013 1902), a German-born American caricaturist, is considered the “Father of American Political Cartoons.” He was associated with Harper\u2019s Weekly<\/em>, and popularized the donkey-elephant symbols in his work. In general, his political cartoons supported American Indians and Chinese Americans. He advocated the abolition of slavery, opposed racial segregation, and deplored the violence of the Ku Klux Klan. Harper’s Weekly<\/em>, and Nast, played an important role in the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864, and Ulysses S Grant in 1868 and 1872.<\/p>\n

Clifford Berryman (1869 \u2013 1949) was another influential political cartoonist; he worked with both the Washington Post<\/em> and Washington Star<\/em>. He drew thousands of cartoons commenting on American presidents, lampooning both of the Roosevelts and Harry Truman. \"\"<\/a>A Pulitzer Prize winner, his cartoons are in the National Archives, and the Library of Congress today.<\/p>\n

I found hundreds of donkey-elephant images during my search \u2013 they seem to be handy critters for \u201cpoking fun\u201d or making serious accusations in a clever, right-to-the-point manner. The DEFINITION of each animal didn\u2019t go far in explaining how they keep winding up on bumper stickers every four years though:<\/p>\n