Early , c. 1760, from a set of the
Four Continents 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 female
personifications of the
four 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 a
caiman or alligator, with a
cornucopia. Sometimes a severed head was a further attribute, or in prints scenes of cannibalism appeared in the background.
18th century 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 the
Native Americans they were often in conflict with. Massachusetts Chief Justice
Samuel Sewall used the name "Columbina" for the New World in 1697. The name "Columbia" for America first appeared in 1738 in the weekly publication of the debates of Parliament in
Edward Cave's ''
The Gentleman's Magazine. Publication of parliamentary debates was technically illegal, so the debates were issued under the thin disguise of Reports 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 from
Jonathan Swift's ''
Gulliver's Travels'' while a few others were classical or neoclassical in style. Such were Ierne for Ireland, Iberia for Spain, Noveborac for New York (from
Eboracum, the Roman name for
York) and Columbia for America—at the time used in the sense of "European colonies in the New World". in an 1869 Thomas Nast cartoon having Thanksgiving dinner with a diverse group of immigrantsBy the time of the
Revolution, 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. :Behold, Britannia! in thy favour'd Isle; :At distance, thou, Columbia! view thy Prince, :For ancestors renowned, for virtues more; 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 name
Columbia Rediviva and it later became famous as an exploring ship and lent its name to new Columbias.
After independence 's 1872 painting
American Progress depicts Columbia as the Spirit of the Frontier, carrying telegraph lines across the Western frontier to fulfill
manifest destiny. , the new capital city of
South Carolina was
Columbia. With independence, the name became popular and was given to many
counties,
townships, and towns as well as other institutions. • In 1784, the former King's College in New York City had its name changed to
Columbia College, which became the nucleus of the present-day Ivy League
Columbia University. • In 1786, the name Columbia was given to the
new capital city of
South 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 President
George Washington named the area destined for the seat of the United States government the territory of Columbia. In 1801, it was organized as the
District of Columbia. • In 1792, the
Columbia Rediviva sailing ship gave its name to the
Columbia River in the American Northwest (much later, the
Rediviva gave its name to the
Space Shuttle Columbia). • In 1798,
Joseph Hopkinson wrote lyrics for
Philip Phile's 1789
inaugural president's march under the new title of "
Hail, Columbia". Once used as
de facto national anthem of the United States, it is now used as the entrance march of the
Vice President of the United States. • In 1819, a new country in the Americas was named
Gran Colombia. • In 1821, citizens of
Boone County, Missouri, chose the name for their new city
Columbia, Missouri, • In 1865
Jules Verne's novel
From the Earth to the Moon, the spacecraft to the Moon was fired from a giant
Columbiad cannon. In part, the more frequent usage of the name "Columbia" reflected a rising American
neoclassicism, exemplified in the tendency to use Roman terms and symbols. The selection of the
eagle as the
national bird, the
heraldric use of the eagle, the use of the term
Senate to describe the
upper house of
Congress and the naming of
Capitol Hill and the
Capitol building were all conscious evocations of Roman precedents.
During Civil War During the
Civil War, the Union faced a coin shortage and issued
Fractional currency depicting busts of
George Washington and others, as well as allegorical figures such as Columbia and
Liberty. The
Confederacy also issued currency depicting allegorical figures such as Columbia and Liberty. However, Columbia depicted on these is very similar to the
Progress of Civilization Pediment on the
United States Capitol building. at left, and Columbia at right. Those on the
Union side drew Columbia and the flag on envelopes to show their allegiance to the
Union. state seal, and
Phrygian 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.) 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. Her statue is used on many of the Civil War monuments. Some of them are listed in this page.
Early 20th century In the early 20th century, women dressed up as Columbia in parades to appeal for
women's suffrage. , dressed as Columbia, stands in front of the
Treasury Building with other participants of the suffrage pageant in the background. Early in
World War I (1914–1918), the image of Columbia standing over a kneeling "doughboy" was issued in lieu of the
Purple 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 name
Liberty Bond for savings bonds was heavily publicized, often with images from the
Statue 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. After
Columbia Pictures adopted Columbia as its
logo in 1924, she has since appeared as bearing a torch similar to that of the
Statue 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.
21st century In 2023, on the
commemorative medal issued by the
U.S. Mint, Columbia does not wear a
Phrygian cap and does not carry a weapon or shield as in the World War I poster. Instead, Columbia is holding an
American flag and shaking hands with an
American 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. On a
commemorative coin issued in 2024 depicting
Liberty, 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. Like other national symbols such as
Marianne,
Britannia, and Liberty, Columbia's appearance and depiction has changed over time as a
national symbol. ==Columbian==