The Democratic mascot animal dates back to 1828. That year, the co-founder of the Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson, was running as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America. Jackson’s political opponents liked to call him a jackass. It was this verbal attack that Andrew Jackson used to his advantage in the election and made the animal the symbol of his campaign. Jackson was elected and served as President of the United States until 1837.
The donkey was then largely forgotten as a symbol of the Democratic Party until January 1870, when the German-born cartoonist Thomas Nast used it for a caricature in his magazine Harper’s Weekly. The drawing featured a donkey and a lion. The donkey represented the anti-Lincoln, anti-war press of the northern states, while the lion personified Edwin M. Stanton, the popular secretary of war under Abraham Lincoln.
Since then, the Democrats have unofficially adopted the donkey as their mascot, using it on their posters and emblems. However, they emphasised the donkey’s positive qualities: The donkey is strong-willed, modest, homely, somewhat stubborn, clever, courageous and lovable.
To the German translation of this article: Das Maskottchen der Demokratischen Partei – der Esel