Holly Adams, age 15, of Asbury Park, N.J., for her question:

SHOULD AMERICA HAVE BEEN NAMED COLUMBIA?

Long before the Revolutionary War, a great many people believed that America should have been named Columbia after the explorer, Christopher Columbus. In fact, during the war, poets in the 13 colonies used the name Columbia to describe the new nation that was to become the United States.

However, those wanting to use the name "Columbia" didn't win the national debate.

The word "Columbia" was first used by a black slave poetess in Massachusetts named Phillis Wheatley. She used the word in a poem honoring George Washington.

A poet named Philip Freneau then popularized the term in several poems during and after the war. It appeared first in law in 1784 when King's College in New York City became Columbia College. Cities, towns and counties throughout the United States have since adopted the name.

The bronze "Statue of Freedom" on top of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., is often incorrectly called a statue of Columbia.