Why is the Republican party called the GOP? And why the
elephant? Dear Straight Dope: What does GOP stand for and how
did it start? Why are Republicans represented as elephants and
Democrats as The Republican Party started in the 1850's, formed
from a split in the Democratic party, whose members, primarily
abolitionists, felt the Democrats were no longer representing
their interests. They decided to call themselves Republicans
because they felt their ideals were very similar to Jefferson's
Democratic-Republican party. After the Civil War, the upstart
Republicans were perceived as the party that won the war. Now
firmly entrenched in the federal government, they were
ironically dubbed the "Gallant Old Party," which soon became the
"Grand Old Party," which was soon shortened to the familiar
acronym "GOP." In 1874, it was rumored that U. S. Grant would
run for an unprecedented third term. As the rumors were
surfacing, there was also a contemporary urban legend that
several animals had escaped from the New York Zo