Where do America's 2 major party's logos (Donkey and Elephant) come from? Where and how did they originate?

Question

What do these two symbols chosen for? Why were they chosen and what do they represent?

Answer 1

Elephants have a long memory and the donkey  (sometimes called by a different name) ....speaks for itself.  

Answer 2

The origins of the democratic donkey are unknown, but several theories have been proposed. According to one theory, in its original form, the jackass was born in the intense mudslinging that occurred during the presidential race of 1828 in which Andrew Jackson was sometimes called a jackass by his opponents.

A political cartoon depicting Jackson riding and directing a donkey (representing the Democratic Party) was published in 1837.

A political cartoon by Thomas Nast in an 1870 edition of Harper's Weekly revived the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party. Cartoonists followed Nast and used the donkey to represent the Democrats.

Another political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the republican elephant symbol.  

Answer 3

The donkey was chosen because most people felt democrats were jack*****, but it wasn't politically correct to use jack***.  The elephant was chosen because people think of republicans as fat pigs, but calling them fat pigs would have offended pigs, so they chose the elephant.