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Elephant and Donkey For nearly 70 years ears American po political political po- po political cartoons have been adorned with pictures of elephants and don don- donkeys donkeys donkeys keys as symbols syn of the two major political parties and an have amused millions who never heard of f their originator The Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey were the j I tion lion of Thomas Nast the most Famous cartoonist of his day and first appeared in Harpers Harper's Weekly the the donkey in 1870 and the ele ele- dc- dc pliant in 1874 according to re re- re searchers He also first f used the tiger to represent Tammany and his cartoons exerted a great I influence ence on public opinion for many man years I Thomas Nast was born in Ger Ger- Germany Germany Germany many many a century ago on September I 27 21 1840 and came to America at atthe at atthe the age of oC six He early began the thc study of oC art and when only 15 IS was appointed to the staff of Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper He Hc later Ii drew for periodicals in London ondon and Paris but returned to the United I States shortly before beCore the Civil War His H is powerful po erful caricatures during that war in advocacy of oC the Union I caused led Lincoln to call nin sin our ourbe be best t recruiting sergeant Besides his newspaper and peri peri- periodical periodical periodical illustrations Nast produced several creditable paintings in color and illustrated a number of books I He also engaged in the thc publishing business on his own account with with- without without out marked success s and was finally appointed United States gen al at Guayaquil Ecuador in 1902 where he died of yellow fever the same year I His His His' name nanie is now almost ten but his famous elephant and donkey will appear on the he pages of American newspapers and a d magazines maga maga- magazines magazines so long as a our present political political political cal parties survive e |
