"COLUMBIA"

"COLUMBIA." By the 1690s the term "Columbia" had come into use to refer to the New World discovered by Christopher Columbus. During the early eighteenth century, the word spread through colonial culture as a name for places and things and in poetry, songs, and political discourse. In the 1760s, as colonists began to resist British power, the term evolved into an image and symbol of distinct American identity. Columbia appeared in art and illustrations as a female classical deity, in a white gown and accompanied by American icons: a liberty pole, the flag, an eagle, thirteen stars, or the dates 1776 and 1789, and often beside George Washington. Columbia symbolized liberty, progress, republican values, and female republican virtue.

"Hail, Columbia" served as the nation's first anthem. Commissioned by actor Gilbert Fox to compose a patriotic song for an upcoming performance, Joseph Hopkinson penned lyrics to the tune of the federalist song, "The President's March." Amid partisan division over the British-French conflict in Europe, Hopkinson's words, like the image of Columbia herself, emphasized American independence, unity, and separation from European affairs. The song premiered 25 April 1798. Its instant popularity helped to quiet partisan tensions and calls for America's entry into the European war.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schlereth, Thomas J. "Columbia, Columbus, and Columbianism." Journal of American History 79 (Dec. 1992):937–968.

James Tejani