• The Mascot 

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Legendary cartoonist Thomas Nast and famed Democratic President Andrew Jackson can be thanked for the Democratic party’s mascot, the donkey. In 
Jackson’s 1828 run for the Presidency, his opponents labeled him a “jackass.” To combat this ridicule and turn it to his own advantage, Jackson began to place donkeys on his campaign posters. Stubborn and steadfast, the donkey was a perfect representation for Jackson’s character and policies.

Later, in 1870, Thomas Nast helped to repopularize the donkey as a symbol of Democratic beliefs. In a Harper’s Weekly cartoon, he used the donkey to represent Lincoln’s Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; the public, however, liked it and interpreted it as a symbol of the party. Nast continued to use it. The Democratic party, unlike the Republicans, never officially adopted their widely-used symbol, but they do use it in many publications. The Democrats use the donkey because they feel it is humble, homely, smart, courageous and loveable; Republicans criticize it for being stubborn, silly and ridiculous.