Pachyderm Power

White button with blue text and the red and blue elephant of the Republican party.

A pachyderm is a large mammal with thick skin such as an elephant or rhino. The elephant now symbolizes the Republican Party in American politics. The elephant appeared in political cartoons as early as the American Civil War (1861-1865,) as “seeing the elephant” a phrase meaning to be engaged in combat. In 1874, the symbol became widely popular as cartoonist Thomas Nast began depicting political parties and politicians as animals in a Harper’s Weekly cartoon.