Why is Republican an Elephant?
In the political world existing in the United States of America, there are two contemporary political parties that remain to be dominating in the political aspect of the country. The two political parties are the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party leans more on fighting for liberal powers and responsibilities. The Republican Party, on the other hand, focuses on bringing together the people in the primacy of religion, politics and economics. This platform is known as the American conservatism, which is considered to be the center-right. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by the Grand Old Party, which is mainly composed of the anti-slavery expansion activists. The name of the party was attributed to the works of Thomas Jefferson, who significantly promoted the values contained in republicanism.
Aside from the party’s famous name of Grand Old Party, it was also known for its symbol, the elephant. A political cartoonist named Thomas Nast was the person behind the symbol of the Republican Party. As part of his task, he designated mascots to serve as representation of each party. The Democratic Party was symbolized by the animal, donkey and the Republican Party was symbolized by an elephant. The reason why Nast represented the Republican Party as an elephant is because it reflected his sentiments and despair regarding his chosen party. The elephant symbol first appeared in a cartoon he drew for a Magazine labeled Harper’s Weekly on November 7, 1874. Later, other political cartoonists associated the elephant animal as a symbol of the Grand Old Party, now commonly called the Republican Party.
In today’s political arena, the elephant is depicted in the American flag’s colors and stars. It is still recognized as an essential symbol of strength, wisdom, courage, hope and lifelong memory.