Randy Cabell wrote:
> "Rejoice Columbia's Sons Rejoice, To Tyrants never bend the knee.
> But join with heart and soul and voice for JEFFERSON and Liberty."

I think this must be read as Columbia the motherland, rather than
Columbia the mother figure.  Americans have venerated Christopher
Columbus as a "secular saint" for centuries, and school children
have asked "If Columbus discovered America, then why is it called
America?"  One answer is to refer to the land as Columbia.

> But my question is, who/what/how did early America pick up Columbia, who
> may be the same as "Lady Liberty", and now that I think about it, I
> believe Columbia stands atop the US Capitol in Washington DC.

I think that is true, but I think the personification is secondary.

                                      John Chandler

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