{"id":2338,"date":"2024-08-12T16:33:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T21:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/?p=2338"},"modified":"2025-02-17T13:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T19:54:09","slug":"eagles-and-donkeys-and-elephants-oh-my-politics-and-animals-in-iwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/2024\/08\/12\/eagles-and-donkeys-and-elephants-oh-my-politics-and-animals-in-iwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Eagles, and donkeys, and elephants, oh my!: Politics and animals in IWA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post was written by Iowa Women’s Archives Graduate Assistant Beatrice Kearns. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do an eagle, a donkey, an elephant, and a chicken have in common? They can all be found in the political collections of the Iowa Women\u2019s Archives!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animals are used as symbols in campaign materials, political cartoons, logos, clothing, accessories, and the state flag and seal of Iowa. The flag, pictured here, was designed by Knoxville, Iowa, local Dixie Cornell Gebhart<\/a> when the state guardsmen serving on the Mexican border during World War I needed a regimental flag. Gebhart utilized the eagle within the flag to symbolize the state\u2019s connection to the nation, linking it to principles of freedom and democracy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newspaper clipping about the creation and design of Iowa’s state flag. Dixie Cornell Gebhart papers,<\/a> Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Outside of campaign materials, animals have been used to encourage people to vote and engage in the democratic process. the League of Women Voters (LWV) produced many pamphlets, flyers, and printed materials featuring lots of animals. the Cedar Rapids-Marion LWV had a get out the vote effort that ruffled some feathers. Women pushed a cart of chickens around a dining hall with a sign saying “I don’t vote, I just squawk,” encouraging citizens to use their votes instead of just complaining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image from League of Women Voters of Cedar Rapids-Marion records<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In American politics, after the eagle, the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey are among the most popular animals amongst IWA’s political materials. These symbols were both popularized by political cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 19th century. The donkey was first used during the 1828 campaign, when opponents referred to Andrew Jackson as a “jackass” and he took it in stride, using the donkey on campaign materials. The elephant came later, as Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president and “seeing the elephant” was a phrase used by Union soldiers when experiencing combat.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1956 Republican Party ephemera from the Mary Louise Smith papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Democratic State Convention1956 program cover from the Alberta Metcalf Kelly papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The elephant and the donkey have been used in cartoons, campaign materials, and party memorabilia. The two animals are very recognizable with their respective parties and serve as a quick calling card. They are often pitted against one another in campaign materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cover of the Republican National Committee program, 1964, from the Mary Louise Smith papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The elephant and the donkey are relied on to quickly identify party membership. Pins and buttons are a common use but more exciting tokens include the “Famous Republican Beauty Mark,” from the Anna Cochrane Lomas papers<\/a> in IWA. It combines the symbol of Republicanism with a popular beauty trend of the 1960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Besides invoking party symbols, politicians also use their pets on the campaign trail to humanize themselves and create a connection with potential voters. Below, former Iowa governor and U.S. Senator Harold Hughes poses with a small kitten, meant to demonstrate his compassion. As an elected official, he advocated for improved treatment of substance abuse disorders and stood against capital punishment.2<\/a><\/sup> On the right, Mary Neuhauser<\/a> holds a cat in a photograph used in her campaign materials. Neuhauser held a range of positions in local and state government for a political career spanning 25 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Harold Hughes campaign material from the Mary Louise Smith papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Mary Neuhauser City Council campaign photograph from the Mary C. Neuhauser papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pets are not the only live animals used in political campaigns. Particularly in Iowa, it is common for livestock to be heavily featured. For example, Wiley Mayne served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years, and his campaign materials present him as knowledgeable and focused on Iowa agriculture. Mayne served on the House Agriculture Committee and helped tackle the issues in the cattle market at the time.3<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wiley Mayne campaign pamphlet, 1960. Mary Louise Smith papers<\/a>, Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the 2024 election season approaches, there are sure to be sightings of donkeys, elephants, and more all around. Learn more about animals and politics by stopping into the Iowa Women’s Archives reading room to view the Political Animals exhibit or by liking our Facebook page<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Jimmy Stamp, “Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys,” Smithsoninan.com, October 23, 2012.<\/sub> \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. Congress.gov. “Harold E. Hughes.” June 25, 2024.<\/sub> \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. United States Congress, “MAYNE, Wiley,” accessed June 25, 2024<\/sub>. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What do an eagle, a donkey, an elephant, and a chicken have in common? They can all be found in the political collections of the Iowa Women\u2019s Archives!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":2340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[{\"id\":\"0c091dd9-0739-4303-b3a6-a8e2e7b47fb9\",\"content\":\"Jimmy Stamp, \\\"Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys,\\\" Smithsoninan.com, October 23, 2012.<\\\/sub>\"},{\"id\":\"efa5c9fa-1fb1-4a86-98e7-fb62066a0d2b\",\"content\":\"Congress.gov. \\\"Harold E. Hughes.\\\" June 25, 2024.<\\\/sub>\"},{\"id\":\"42c3a2df-6ab6-4658-b314-55345d2780ab\",\"content\":\"United States Congress, \\\"MAYNE, Wiley,\\\" accessed June 25, 2024<\\\/sub>.\"}]"},"categories":[5,417],"tags":[436,438,426,437,435,442,440,441,225,77,439,432,434,270],"syndication":[20,61],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2338"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2400,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2338\/revisions\/2400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2338"},{"taxonomy":"syndication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/iwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/syndication?post=2338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}