The earliest type of personification of the Americas, seen in European art from the 16th century onwards, reflected the tropical regions in South and Central America from which the earliest European travelers reported back. Such images were most often used in sets of femalepersonifications of thefour continents. America was depicted as a woman who, like Africa, was only partly dressed, typically in bright feathers, which invariably formed her headdress. She often held a parrot, was seated on acaiman or alligator, with acornucopia. Sometimes a severed head was a further attribute, or in prints scenes of cannibalism appeared in the background.[2][3]
Though versions of this depiction, tending as time went on to soften the rather savage image into an "Indian princess" type, and in churches emphasizing conversion to Christianity, served European artists well enough, by the 18th century they were becoming rejected by settlers in North America, who wanted figures representing themselves rather than theNative Americans they were often in conflict with.[4]
Massachusetts Chief JusticeSamuel Sewall used the name "Columbina" for the New World in 1697.[5] The name "Columbia" for America first appeared in 1738[6][7] in the weekly publication of the debates of Parliament inEdward Cave'sThe Gentleman's Magazine. Publication of parliamentary debates was technically illegal, so the debates were issued under the thin disguise ofReports of the Debates of the Senate of Lilliput and fictitious names were used for most individuals and place names found in the record. Most of these were transparent anagrams or similar distortions of the real names and some few were taken directly fromJonathan Swift'sGulliver's Travels while a few others were classical or neoclassical in style. Such were Ierne for Ireland, Iberia for Spain, Noveborac for New York (fromEboracum, the Roman name forYork) and Columbia for America—at the time used in the sense of "European colonies in the New World".[8]
Columbia and an early rendition ofUncle Sam in an 1869 Thomas Nast cartoon having Thanksgiving dinner with a diverse group of immigrants[9][10]
By the time of theRevolution, the name Columbia had lost the comic overtone of its Lilliputian origins and had become established as an alternative, or poetic, name for America. While the name America is necessarily scanned with four syllables, according to 18th-century rules of English versification Columbia was normally scanned with three, which is often more metrically convenient. For instance, the name appears in a collection of complimentary poems written by Harvard graduates in 1761 on the occasion of the marriage and coronation of King George III.[11]
The name Columbia rapidly came to be applied to a variety of items reflecting American identity. A ship built in Massachusetts in 1773 received the nameColumbia Rediviva and it later became famous as an exploring ship and lent its name to new Columbias.
With independence, the name became popular and was given to manycounties,townships, and towns as well as other institutions.
In 1784, the former King's College in New York City had its name changed toColumbia College, which became the nucleus of the present-day Ivy LeagueColumbia University.
In 1786, the name Columbia was given to thenew capital city ofSouth Carolina. Columbia is also the name of at least 19 other towns in the United States.
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society.
In 1791, three commissioners appointed by PresidentGeorge Washington named the area destined for the seat of the United States government the territory of Columbia. In 1801, it was organized as theDistrict of Columbia.
Confederate $100 from 1861, train pulling into a station at center. Columbia at left.Confederate $100, slaves working a cotton field at center.John C. Calhoun at left, and Columbia at right.[13]
Those on theUnion side drew Columbia and the flag on envelopes to show their allegiance to theUnion.
Civil War envelope showing Columbia with sword floating above marching soldiers. Civil War envelope showing Columbia with flag,Massachusetts state seal, andPhrygian cap bearing message "Loyal to the Union"
"Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" became popular during the Civil War. The song has lyrics praising the Union in the third verse. (Today, this part is usually not sung.)[14]
The Union, the Union forever, Our glorious nation's sweet hymn, May the wreaths it has won never wither, Nor the stars of its glory grow dim, May the service united ne'er sever, But they to their colors prove true. The Army and Navy forever, When borne by the red, white, and blue. 𝄆 When borne by the red, white, and blue. 𝄇 The Army and Navy for ever, Three cheers for the red, white and blue.[15]
Her statue is used on many of the Civil War monuments. Some of them are listed in this page.
In the early 20th century, women dressed up as Columbia in parades to appeal forwomen's suffrage.
German actressHedwiga Reicher, dressed as Columbia, stands in front of theTreasury Building with other participants of the suffrage pageant in the background.
Early inWorld War I (1914–1918), the image of Columbia standing over a kneeling "doughboy" was issued in lieu of thePurple Heart medal. She gave "to her son the accolade of the new chivalry of humanity" for injuries sustained in the World War.
In World War I, the nameLiberty Bond for savings bonds was heavily publicized, often with images from theStatue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World). The personification of Columbia fell out of use and was largely replaced by the Statue of Liberty as a feminine symbol of the United States.[16]
AfterColumbia Pictures adopted Columbia as itslogo in 1924, she has since appeared as bearing a torch similar to that of theStatue of Liberty, unlike 19th-century depictions of Columbia. The Columbia Pictures logo is the most famous and prominent display of Columbia to many current Americans.[17]
In 2023, on thecommemorative medal issued by theU.S. Mint, Columbia does not wear aPhrygian cap and does not carry a weapon or shield as in the World War I poster. Instead, Columbia is holding anAmerican flag and shaking hands with anAmerican Indian. Between them sits a bust of Washington and the inscription "PEACE." Around them are elements symbolic of American life, both native and industrial. This medal is a reproduction of one issued in the 19th century.[18]On acommemorative coin issued in 2024 depictingLiberty, the designers studied not only the liberty but also the portrayal of Columbia to depict liberty. The race of Liberty depicted on this coin is ambiguous.[19]Like other national symbols such asMarianne,Britannia, and Liberty, Columbia's appearance and depiction has changed over time as anational symbol.[20]
The April 6, 1901 cover ofPuck depicts Columbia wearing a warship bearing the words "world power" as herEaster bonnet.
As a quasi-mythical figure, Columbia first appears in the poetry of the African-AmericanPhillis Wheatley in October 1775, during the Revolutionary War:[21][22]
One century scarce perform'd its destined round, When Gallic powers Columbia's fury found; And so may you, whoever dares disgrace The land of freedom's heaven-defended race! Fix'd are the eyes of nations on the scales, For in their hopes Columbia's arm prevails.[23]
Immune Columbia (interpreted as America free from tribute) was produced at George Wyon's private mint,Birmingham,England in 1785. Seated figure of Columbia withscales of justice and aLiberty cap[24]
Especially in the 19th century, Columbia was visualized as agoddess-like femalenational personification of the United States and of liberty itself, comparable to the BritishBritannia, the ItalianItalia Turrita and the FrenchMarianne, often seen inpolitical cartoons of the 19th and early 20th century. The personification was sometimes called Lady Columbia or Miss Columbia. Such an iconography usually personified America in the form of an Indian queen or Native American princess.[25] The image of the personified Columbia was never fixed, but she was most often presented as a woman between youth and middle age, wearing classically draped garments decorated with stars and stripes. A popular version gave her a red-and-white-striped dress and a blue blouse, shawl, or sash, spangled with white stars. Her headdress varied and sometimes it included feathers reminiscent of a Native American headdress while other times it was alaurel wreath, but most often, it was acap of liberty.
20 DollarNational Bank Notes.TheBattle of Lexington at left. Columbia carrying a flag and leading a procession at right. And above her is written " LOYALTY ". These notes were issued between 1863 and 1935.[26]The Bust of Columbia depicted on a 15-cent bank note. These notes were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876[27]2 1/2 dollar coin, issued in 1915 to commemorate thePanama-Pacific International Exposition. Columbia is seated on ahippocampus, or mythological sea horse, and holding acaduceus[28]1/2 dollar coin, issued in 1915 to commemorate thePanama-Pacific International Exposition. Columbia is standing, sunset in background. This was the first commemorative coin to carry the mottoIn God We Trust.[29]
Above theStatue of Francis Scott Key in San Francisco, California. The Statue of Francis Scott Key was removed, but the Statue of Columbia remains in place.
The naming of theNew World and of the newly independent country ofColombia after Christopher Columbus in the early 19th century is discussed atColombia § Etymology.
The elementniobium was first called columbium, a name which some people still use today. The name columbium, coined by the chemistCharles Hatchett upon his discovery of the metal in 1801,[47] reflected that the type specimen of theore came from America.[48]
Columbia Records, founded in 1888, took its name from its headquarters in the District of Columbia.
Columbia Pictures, named in 1924, uses a version of the personified Columbia as its logo after a great deal of experimentation.[49]
CBS's former legal name was the Columbia Broadcasting System, first used in 1928. The name derived from an investor, the Columbia Phonograph Manufacturing Company, which owned Columbia Records.
A personified Columbia appears inUncle Sam, a graphic novel about American history (1997).
The setting of the steampunk video gameBioShock Infinite is the alternate reality city of Columbia, which makes frequent use of Columbia's image. Columbia herself is believed to be an archangel by the citizens.
In the mobile gameArknights, Columbia is used as the name of an in-game country that is based on the United States.
A defiant Columbia in an 1871Thomas Nast cartoon shown protecting a defenseless Chinese man from an angry Irish lynch mob that has just burned down an orphanage
Columbia in an 1865 Thomas Nast cartoon asking the government to allowblack soldiers to vote
Columbia (representing the American people) reaches out to oppressed Cuba with blindfolded Uncle Sam in background (Judge, February 6, 1897; cartoon byGrant E. Hamilton).
^Donald Dewey (2007).The Art of Ill Will: The Story of American Political Cartoons. New York University Press. p. 13.ISBN9780814719855. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2020.(Minus the torch and the book, Columbia herself had been called 'Liberty' long before F. S. Bartholdi's sculpture was dedicated in New York harbor in 1886.)
^Higham, John (1990)."Indian Princess and Roman Goddess: The First Female Symbols of America"(PDF).Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society.100: 48. RetrievedJuly 3, 2022.America alone was a savage. An early predilection for exhibiting her as a naked cannibal, toying with a severed head or a half-roasted human arm, gave way in the seventeenth century to less threatening but still muscular images. She became, for example, a barbaric queen, borne aloft in a giant conch shell, scattering baubles from her cornucopia to the European adventurers crowding below [...].
^"Columbia, (sculpture)".Art Inventories Catalog Smithsonian American Art Museum Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). RetrievedJuly 27, 2024.
Higham, John (1990). "Indian Princess and Roman Goddess: The First Female Symbols of America",Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. 100: 50–51, JSTOR orPDF
Le Corbeiller, Clare (1961), "Miss America and Her Sisters: Personifications of the Four Parts of the World",The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 19, pp. 210–223,PDFArchived 2019-08-05 at theWayback Machine
George R. Stewart (1967).Names on the Land. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston.
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