Ever wonder? “The Democratic Party’s donkey started as an insult during Andrew Jackson’s 1828 presidential campaign, when his political opponents labeled him as a “jackass.” Known for being stubborn and obstinate, Jackson decided to use the insult in his favor and began putting the strong-willed animal on his election posters. As it turned out, Jackson defeated incumbent John Quincy Adams and became America’s first Democratic president. In the 1870s, influential political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who’s widely considered the father of the modern political cartoon, helped popularize the donkey as a symbol for the entire Democratic Party.”
Cartoon originally published in “Harper’s Weekly”, January 19th 1870 [public domain].
