Must Old John Bull Go?
An October 1924 New York Times Magazine article asked if John Bull, the illustrated personification of England akin to America's Uncle Sam, was fated to disappear. Over the next 100 years, he mostly did.
John Arbuthnot created the character in 1712, usually depicted as an overweight middle-aged man, often clad in the Union Jack. In 1924, the journalist P.W. Wilson wrote that he might not last.
Sure enough, Grant Hurst at Casual Historian explains:
In the early twentieth century we begin to see the decline in the use of John Bull in political satire. The character of John Bull is co-opted by the Conservative Party to attack the policies of the Liberals... The world wars would mark the end of John Bull as a frequently used character in political cartoons.
This is also depicted in Google Books Ngram Viewer, which charts the use of words or phrases in books over time. From 1900 to 2022, the use of "John Bull" plummeted. (Although interestingly, it rose slightly around 2020, presumably tied to rising British nationalism during the Brexit debate and vote.)
Curiously, the use of "Uncle Sam" has also plummeted in books over time, even though the actual character remains alive and well. (Although surely used less today than during his WWI-era and WWII-era peaks.)
Must Old John Bull Go?: The Suggestion That He Be Dismissed as No Longer Representative of England Is Gravely Discussed
Published: Sunday, October 19, 1924