The donkey and elephant became political symbols in the United States through a combination of political satire and popular culture, primarily driven by cartoonists in the 19th century. Here's how ...

which is perhaps why the Democrats got saddled with a jackass as a popular symbol (the party has never officially adopted it), while the Republicans got the large and relatively noble elephant ...

In the early 1900s, the rooster had been the symbol of the Democratic ... “Caesarism” frightens away an elephant labeled as the “Republican vote,” nearly falling into the trap of claims ...