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| Earliest known use of the elephant as a symbol of the Republican Party (Illinois State Journal, August 9, 1860) |
Most history books will tell you that the elephant became the symbol of the Republican Party thanks to political cartoonist Thomas Nast's first use of the pachyderm in the November 7, 1874 issue of Harper's Weekly. But if you dig into the archives of the Illinois State Journal from August 1860, you’ll find that an elephant made a massive—and literal—appearance for Abraham Lincoln long before Nast ever put pen to paper.
On August 8, 1860, Springfield, Illinois, witnessed what local newspapers called a "Political Earthquake." Thousands of people flooded the city for a massive Republican rally at the Fair Grounds. The Illinois State Journal led its report the next morning with three full columns of coverage, capped by an illustration of an elephant holding a banner in its trunk that read: "WE ARE COMING!" and captioned with another banner proclaiming: "CLEAR THE TRACK!"
It is widely considered the first recorded connection between the elephant and the Republican party.
A Mob, a Carriage, and a Quick Escape
The rally itself was a scene of wild frontier enthusiasm. Five separate speaker stands were set up across the grounds to accommodate the immense crowd. When Lincoln arrived by carriage, the excitement boiled over.
A crowd surged around his carriage, practically swarming the vehicle. Supporters lifted Lincoln out of the carriage entirely and carried him over the heads of the crowd to one of the speakers' platforms. A reporter from the Cincinnati Gazette covering the event marveled at the sheer scale of the spectacle:
"Immense is the only word that describes to-day's demonstration... The enthusiasm was beyond all bounds... I never saw so dense and large a crowd."
After delivering a brief set of remarks, Lincoln realized the crowd was far too dense for him to leave by carriage. While the mass of people remained gathered around his empty carriage expecting him to re-enter, Lincoln executed a quiet stratagem: he slipped out the back of the platform, mounted a horse, and rode away unrecognized.
"Not to No Man as a Man"
What is most striking about the day is not the parade, the giant elephant graphic, or the chaos of the crowd—it is what Lincoln said when he stood up to address the gathering.
As candidate for president, Lincoln had adopted a strict strategy of making no formal campaign speeches, preferring to let the Republican platform speak for itself. He kept his remarks short and disarming:
"I appear among you upon this occasion with no intention of making a speech... I appear upon the ground here at this time only for the purpose of affording myself the best opportunity of seeing you, and enabling you to see me."
But then Lincoln turned the crowd's wild adulation into a lesson on the nature of democratic self-government:
"I am profoundly gratified for this manifestation of your feelings. I am gratified, because it is a tribute such as can be paid to no man as a man. It is the evidence that four years from this time you will give a like manifestation to the next man who is the representative of the truth on the questions that now agitate the public. And it is because you will then fight for this cause as you do now, or with even greater ardor than now, though I be dead and gone."
The Storyteller's Insight
Lincoln had an innate ability to look at a spectacle—whether a crowd of thousands or an image of a careening elephant—and strip away the personal ego.
To the crowd, the roaring demonstration was about Lincoln the candidate. But to Lincoln, the demonstration was about the cause. He reminded his neighbors that they weren't cheering for him as an individual; they were cheering for the principles of free labor and human liberty that he happened to represent at that historical moment.
He even offered a somber, almost prophetic observation: the cause would outlive him, and four years later, they would be called to fight for those same truths whether he was there or "dead and gone."
The elephant banner shouted "CLEAR THE TRACK!"—a popular 19th-century phrase used to announce an oncoming locomotive or racehorse.
Another story from the archives of Abraham Lincoln, Storyteller.
Mac
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Works Cited
Basler, Roy P., ed. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Vol. 4. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953.
Cincinnati Gazette. "Mass Demonstration at Springfield, Illinois." August 9, 1860. Quoted in Peoria Daily Transcript, August 13, 1860.
Illinois State Journal (Springfield). "A Political Earthquake! The Prairies on Fire for Lincoln!" August 9, 1860.
Lincoln, Abraham. "Remarks at a Republican Rally, Springfield, Illinois." Speech delivered August 8, 1860. In The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler, 4:91–92. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953.
Nicolay, John G., and John Hay, eds. Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works. Vol. 6. New York: Century Co., 1894.
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Here is the speech and annotation from Lincoln's Collected Works, Vol. 4:
REMARKS AT A REPUBLICAN RALLY, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, August 8, 1860 My Fellow Citizens:---I appear among you upon this occasion with no intention of making a speech. It has been my purpose, since I have been placed in my present position, to make no speeches. This assemblage having been drawn together at the place of my residence, it appeared to be the wish of those constituting this vast assembly to see me; and it is certainly my wish to see all of you. I appear upon the ground here at this time only for the purpose of affording myself the best opportunity of seeing you, and enabling you to see me.
I confess with gratitude, be it understood, that I did not suppose my appearance among you would create the tumult which I now witness. I am profoundly gratified for this manifestation of your feelings. I am gratified, because it is a tribute such as can be paid to no man as a man. It is the evidence that four years from this time you will give a like manifestation to the next man who is the representative of the truth on the questions that now agitate the public. And it is because you will then fight for this cause as you do now, or with even greater ardor than now, though I be dead and gone. I most profoundly and sincerely thank you.
Having said this much, allow me now to say that it is my wish that you will hear this public discussion by others of our friends who are present for the purpose of addressing you, and that you will kindly let me be silent.
Annotation [1] Illinois State Journal, August 9, 1860. This speech is misdated by Nicolay and Hay in the Complete Works (VI, 49) on August 14. The Journal devoted more than three columns to the mammoth occasion at the Fair Grounds, heading the first column with an elephant bearing in its trunk a banner inscribed
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"WE ARE COMING!'' and caparisoned in another which announced "CLEAR THE TRACK!"---the first known use of the elephant as symbol of the Republican party. Headlines followed: "A Political Earthquake!" "THE PRAIRIES ON FIRE/FOR LINCOLN!" The rally was described in superlatives. Five speakers' stands (other papers said "six") were filled simultaneously. Lincoln's arrival on the grounds occasioned a stampede for his carriage, whence he was lifted and carried above the crowd to one of the stands. After his brief remarks he escaped by stratagem on horseback while the expectant crowd massed around the carriage. The Cincinnati Gazette reporter admitted that "Immense is the only word that describes to-day's demonstration. . . . The enthusiasm was beyond all bounds. . . . I never saw so dense and large a crowd. . . . Mr. Lincoln's bearing to-day, under such a tribute of personal popularity and admiration as I have never before seen paid to any human being, more and more convinces me of the real greatness of his character..." (Peoria Daily Transcript, August 13, 1860, copied from the Gazette.)
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