MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - On this day, Nov. 7, 1874, the first cartoon of an elephant representing the Republican Party was published.

The elephant eventually became part of the party’s official logo.

The 1874 cartoon was drawn by Thomas Nast, who was a political cartoonist for the magazine “Harper’s Weekly.”

He was also behind the Democratic Party’s logo, the donkey. That image appeared four years earlier, in 1870.

The Republican Party has strong ties to Wisconsin, as it was founded in 1854 in Ripon.

The Little White Schoolhouse, where the party was founded, moved locations in 2023. You can still visit that historical site today.

The Republican National Convention was held in Milwaukee last year, four years after a smaller Democratic National Convention was held in the city in 2020 du

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