Political Flags
A donkey…an elephant; neither a suave symbol but one the Democratic and Republican Parties in the U.S. have accepted and utilized. With the 2008 Presidential election rapidly approaching the flags of both parties are everywhere you look.
Many might be surprised to learn the satiric meaning behind these symbols you can witness on every major news network. On January 19, 1870 Harper’s Weekly published a Thomas Nast political cartoon depicting ‘A live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion’. This image revived the donkey as the symbol for the Democratic Party as it was first introduced in the presidential race of 1828 where Andrew Jackson had been labeled a jackass by his opponents.
Thomas Nast did it again on November 7, 1874 when his political cartoon depicted an elephant demolishing a bridge made up of ‘so-called’ flimsy planks of the Democratic Party.
More than a century has passed since Thomas Nast defined our most popular political parties with the simple images of an elephant and a donkey. With each wave of these flags the historical relevance and present day interpretations have been captured for future generations.
Political Party Quick Facts:
Republican
Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers. The Republican Party rose to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President.
The current U.S. President, George W. Bush, is the 19th Republican to hold that office.
The Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for President of the United States in the upcoming 2008 election is Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Republicans currently fill the minority seats in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. They also hold a minority in state governorships, and control a minority of state legislatures.
The Republican Party is the second largest party with 55 million registered members.
Some of the more popular Republican Presidents include Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.
The eagle is still used as a Republican symbol in some Midwestern states.
Red is often associated with the Republican Party.