Thomas Nast published a political cartoon in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, which is considered the first important use of the elephant as a Republican Party symbol.

A political cartoon by Thomas Nast appeared in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, and is considered the first important use of the elephant as a symbol of the United States Republican Party. Nast, who was deeply involved in the political issues of the day and often a member of the Republican party, has been credited as the first to depict the party using an elephant. Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City; the supplied passages name the city but not an exact site of publication, and they do not describe the cartoon's content.

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