German-born political cartoonist Thomas Nast gave America some of its most enduring symbols: the Republican ... the celebrated Nast drew thousands of cartoons during the second half of the ...

His cartoons were influential in the late 19th century, and the symbols he popularized became ingrained in American political culture. Today, the donkey and the elephant remain enduring symbols of ...

But it was Nast’s revival of the Democratic donkey in his Jan. 18, 1870 cartoon, shown above — “A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” — that popularized the symbol. The cartoon depicts ...