History ofthe Democratic Party
When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828, his opponents tried to label him a "jackass" for his populist views and his slogan, "Let the people rule." Jackson, however, picked up on their name calling and turned it to his own advantage by using the donkey on his campaign posters. During his presidency, the donkey was used to represent Jackson's stubbornness when he vetoed re-chartering the National Bank.
The first time the donkey was used in apolitical cartoon to represent the Democratic party, it was again in conjunction with Jackson. Although in 1837 Jackson was retired, he still thought of himself as the Party's leader and was shown trying to get the donkey to go where he wanted it to go. The cartoon was titled "A Modern Baalim and his Ass."
Interestingly enough, the person credited with getting the donkey widely accepted as the Democratic party's symbol probably had no knowledge of the prior associations. Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist, came to the United States with his parents in 1840 when he was six. He first used the donkey in an 1870 Harper's Weekly cartoon to represent the "CopperheadPress" kicking a dead lion, symbolizing Lincoln's Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had recently died. Nast intended the donkey to represent an anti-war faction with whom he disagreed, but the symbol caught the public's fancy and the cartoonist continued using it to indicate some Democratic editors and newspapers.
Later, Nast used the donkey to portray what he called "Caesarism" showing the alleged Democratic uneasiness over a possible third term for Ulysses S. Grant. In conjunction with this issue, Nast helped associate the elephant with the Republican party. Although the elephant had been connected with the Republican party in cartoons that appeared in 1860 and 1872, it was Nast's cartoon in 1874 published by Harper's Weekly that made the pachyderm stick as the Republican's symbol. A cartoon titled "The Third Term Panic," showed animals representing various issues running away from a donkey wearing a lion's skintagged "Caesarism." The elephant labeled "The Republican Vote," was about to run into a pit containing inflation, chaos, repudiation, etc.
By 1880 the donkey was well established as a mascot for the Democratic party. A cartoon about the Garfield-Hancock campaign in the New York Daily Graphic showed the Democratic candidate mounted on a donkey, leading a procession of crusaders.
Over the years, the donkey and the elephant have become the accepted symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties. Although the Democrats have never officially adopted the donkey as a party symbol, we have used various donkey designs on publications over the years. The Republicans have actually adopted the elephant as their official symbol and use their design widely.
The Democrats think of the elephant as bungling, stupid, pompous and conservative -- but the Republicans think it is dignified, strong and intelligent. On the other hand, the Republicans regard the donkey as stubborn, silly and ridiculous -- but the Democrats claim it is humble, homely, smart, courageous and loveable.
Adlai Stevenson provided one of the most clever descriptions of the Republican's symbol when he said, "The elephant has a thick skin, a head full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade knows, proceeds best by grasping the tail of its predecessor."
Landmark Dates in Democratic National PartyHistory
1792
Organized by Thomas Jefferson as a Congressional Caucus to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the elite Populist Party
1798
Became the "party of the common man" and was officiallycalled the Democratic-Republicans
1800
Jefferson elected as the first Democratic President * Negotiatedthe Louisiana Purchase
1808
James Madison elected President
1814
Won the War of 1812 * Strengthened the armed forces
1816
James Monroe elected President * Established the Monroe Doctrine
1824
John Quincy Adams elected President
Party splits as four Democratic candidates ran
1828
Andrew Jackson elected President
Created the national convention process, the party platform, and reunified the Party on the issue of states' rights
1837
Martin Van Buren elected President
1840
Officially named the Democratic Party
1844
James Polk elected President
Annexed the Oregon Territory
Defeated Mexico
Gained the Republic of Texas and the southwestern territories
1852
Franklin Pierce elected President
1856
James Buchanan elected President
1860
Democratic Party formally split over slavery
Northern wing supported Stephen A. Douglas
Southern wing supported John F. Breckenridge
1870s
Democratic Party reached its weakest point under Grant's Administration
Democratic southern base was disenfranchised by the Civil Warand Reconstruction
1876
Samuel Tilden ran unsuccessfully for President, a predecessorof the Progressive reformers of the 1900s
1884
Grover Cleveland elected President; also elected in 1892
Reformed the Civil Service system for government employees, reducingthe number
of jobs awarded on the basis of patronage
1896
William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for President; also ran in 1900 and 1908
Led a movement of agrarian reformers
Supported the right of women's suffrage
Supported the progressive graduated income tax
Supported the direct election of Senators
1900s
Party became predominant in local urban machine politics
1912
Woodrow Wilson elected President
Led the country through World War I
Fought for the League of Nations
Established the Federal Reserve Board
Passed the first labor and child welfare laws
1920s
Democrats were divided over the issue of Prohibition
Alfred Smith ran for the Presidency - first Catholic candidate
Democrats helped to establish the first primary system
1932
Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected
President brought the nation out of the Great Depression
Guided us through most of World War II
Established the Social Security System
Established the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Reformed the national banking system
Established the Tennessee Valley Authority
Established the Works Progress Administration
Formed the National Industrial Recovery Act
Established the Agriculture Adjustment Admin.
1945
Harry S Truman became President
Established the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe after WorldWar II
Established the Truman Doctrine, calling for U.S. interventionwhere necessary to protect nations from communism
Established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1952
Adlai Stevenson ran unsuccessfully for President; also in 1956
1953-60
Democratic-controlled Congress passed the first civil rights legislationin 85 years
1960
John F. Kennedy elected President
Negotiated a treaty banning atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons
Created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Created the Peace Corps
1963
Lyndon B. Johnson became President
Passage of the Civil Rights Act
Creation of Medicare
Formation of the Great Society programs and the War on Poverty
1976
Jimmy Carter elected President
Negotiated Panama Canal treaties
Negotiated Camp David peace treaties between Egypt and Israel
1982
Congressional Democrats helped establish a national plan for disposal of nuclear waste
1983
Congress, after Reagan's opposition, approved a bill establishinga national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
1984
Democratic Congress prevented a constitutional amendment banning abortion and stopped a bill to lower the minimum wage for teenagers
1984
Democratic Presidential candidate Walter Mondale nominated Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first woman vice-presidential candidate
1985
Democratic pressure in the House led to sanctions against South Africa
1986
November elections converted a 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate into a 55-45 Democratic advantage
1987
The 100th Congress, led by Democrats, overrode Reagan's 1986 veto of the Clean Water
bill
1990
Americans with Disabilities Act passed
Head Start expanded
Clean Air bill rewritten
1992
Bill Clinton elected President
1993
Passage of major legislative initiatives begins, led by President Clinton and the Democratic Congress:
Economic Package: contained the largest deficit-cutting plan inhistory
Student Loan Reform Act: increased access to higher education for millions
National Service Act: helps students get tuition assistance through serving communities
The Brady Bill: the five day waiting period keeps convicted felons from buying guns
National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter): opens up access to voter registration
Family & Medical Leave Act: offers job protection & unpaid leave during a family need
NAFTA: creating hundreds of thousands of jobs by opening our trading borders with Mexico and Canada
1994
Passage of major legislative initiatives continues:
The Crime Bill: the toughest and most comprehensive crime billever; puts 100,000 more cops on our streets and combats domestic violence through the Violence Against Women Act.
School-to-Work Opportunities Act: Prepares young people for their first jobs and continuing education
GATT: the largest trade agreement in history
1995
President Clinton signed the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
1996
President Clinton signed into law the Telecommunications Bill,the first reform of the communications industry since 1934
