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Why should we celebrate columbus day essay
Columbus arrival in americas
Why should we celebrate columbus day essay
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On the second Monday of October, Columbus Day is a holiday that is celebrated in the United States, Spain, etc. This holiday signifies the discovery of the new world; however, this may not be the case. Since the day President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announced Columbus day to be an official federal holiday, there has been a lot of controversy whether people should or should not celebrate the holiday. Many people do not believe that this holiday is significant enough to be celebrated. So the question is, should Columbus day be celebrated? The answer is no. Columbus day is a holiday that celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the new world.1 It glorifies Columbus being the first European to discover North America. This is all not entirely true and that is one of the many …show more content…
reasons why Columbus day should not be celebrated. The first reason that Columbus day should not be celebrated is because, one he was not the first European to discover the new world. If Columbus day is about honoring the first discovery of the new world, then credit should be also given to Leif Eriksson and the Vikings. Leif Eriksson was the son of Erik the Red who was the founder of the first European settlement on the land that is now called Greenland.2 Eriksson was the first to discover Newfoundland, he discovered this almost 500 years before Columbus did. Credit is given to Columbus even though he wasn’t intentionally trying to discover North America. In his mind, he thought he had found India. There is no point in honoring a man who was never interested in discovering the world that is known today Another reason that Columbus day should not be celebrated is because of the man Christopher Columbus himself.
When he discovered North America, he found Indians whom he later took advantage of. He enslaved many natives during his quest and many times his men would rape and kill them. Once a lot of the natives were killed, he began trading African slaves. This was the beginning of slavery in America. Columbus day should not be celebrated because it is a painful reminder of what had been done to the natives when Christopher Columbus arrived.3 It is a day that constantly starts protests, arguments and angers a lot of people. This clearly shows what an impact celebrating Columbus day has on society.
With all these reasons in mind, it is evident that Columbus day should not be celebrated. It is a holiday that many people do not celebrate and it is also one that brings back a lot of negative memories. With many other holidays such as Independence day, thanksgiving day, etc. that remind people of their heritage, Columbus day is a holiday that is not necessary to remind people of who they are. Instead of Celebrating one man, why not celebrate all the men who helped discover North
America?
The credit for this change of view can be given to Washington Irving, who wrote a biography based on Columbus in 1828. This biography romanticized him and gave people the idea that he was this courageous hero who despite people’s claims that he’ll never succeed, ended up discovering what lies past the Atlantic. This biography gathered the momentum needed to catapult the collective opinion of Columbus higher in America. As time passed, more biographers wrote about him which resulted in groups forming, particularly the Knights of Columbus. They’re the group that pressed for a nationally recognized Columbus Day, which passed in
Columbus Day was not always a federal holiday. Traditionally, the holiday was observed on the 12th of October locally. Columbus Day first became a holiday in Colorado in 1906. Through lobbying by Angelo Rose, Generoso Pope, and The Knights of Columbus, Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937. It was signed in by Franklin Roosevelt. Since 1970, the holiday has been observed on the second Monday of October. Columbus Day had lobbying against it as well. During the early days before information was not easily available, it was said that the holiday would be used to spread Catholic influence. In later years during the Information Age, arguments such as Columbus 's character or the genocide and slavery of the Indians became widespread arguments against the celebration of the holiday. There are also many arguments as to why the holiday should be kept. Columbus 's voyages led to the colonization of the New World. His expeditions spurred the Age of Exploration, where many European countries continued to invest in exploring for shorter and faster routes to India and the Orient, and new territories to claim. His voyages also led to the Columbian
Christopher Columbus does not deserve to be honored as a hero with his own holiday. Close to 500 years, people have praised Christopher Columbus and also celebrated him as though he was the one who truly founded America. Teachers teach students that he was a great man, also how he found treasures and land known as America. Students are also taught about the names of his three ships he used on his first voyage. However, they did not teach us the truth about Christopher Columbus, and his so called “discovery”.
Christopher Columbus was a man who much credit was given to for a very small deed. In fact he discovered a new world, but that world was only new to him and the men of his previous generations. What about the many Native Americans whose fathers and father’s fathers shed their blood for the land in which they had lived for so many years. How could one such as Christopher Columbus who was looking for freedom and hope cause so much bondage and destruction? One man’s victory turned out to be devastation for millions.
Although, Columbus may have done some bad things to America, he helped England, Spain, and all people to this day. When he discovered America he made it known, allowing people to travel there and begin a new life. Lots of countries honor Columbus, especially Spain. For his discovery we wouldn’t be where we are now, we might have still believed the world was flat. From the author of “Sail On!” he says “Columbus’ voyage made America known to the people of Europe. This truly changed the world. It is why Columbus is honored.”He will be honored for the good things we don’t need to ponder on the
However, people tend to forget the other side of Columbus, the side that lusted after gold and resources that often belonged to the native inhabitants he came across in his exploration. In his insatiable greed, he and his crew committed countless atrocities, such as torture and killing of defenseless natives. Columbus’s discovery of these new lands has profound and negative effects as future colonists arrive. “Zinn estimates that perhaps 3 million people perished in the Caribbean alone from raids, forced labor and disease” (Zinn, 1980). Columbus was seen as a cruel man, who saw the peaceful inhabitants as right for the conquering and lead to the devastation of the native population, yet is celebrated every October.
For more than five centuries Americans have lifted Christopher Columbus to heights of greatness and god-like. We celebrate his life as though he was a man that had done us a great favor. In resent years Christopher Columbus has come under scrutiny, his life and works being questioned more than celebrated. There have be many great men and women that contributed to the building of our great nation but they do not receive anywhere as much recognition as Columbus. When a person begins to study the actual accounts of the "finding of the New World" they begin to wonder if Columbus should adored or hated for his actions. As a child I was taught that Columbus was a great man that had accomplished great things for the sake of humanity, but in reality his agenda was not to better humanity but to better himself. He found the Americas by mere chance and he did not even know of what he found. We give him credit for "finding" the Americas but history tells of the people, that he called Indians, already inhabiting the foreign land. So you decide whether or not Christopher Columbus should be revered a hero.
One reason we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus Day is because he enslaved Natives to have them work. The text states,”The aim was clear: slaves and gold. They went from island to island in the Caribbean,capturing Indians,”(page 8
Other than what was taught in primary education I knew little of Christopher Columbus. I certainly did not know the truth. Educators and school board officials provided a faulty historical account of Christopher Columbus growing up. Most youth raised in America grew up with nursery rhymes and bedtime stories fictionalizing the heroic efforts and swash-buckling adventures of Columbus’ and men alike making their thievery and lack of concern for human life acceptable. All Americans including the Native and African Americans who were indirectly affected by Christopher Columbus via the slave trade and destruction of their people, observe Christopher Columbus Day. If this is so, why don’t we have a Hail Hitler Day? Hitler, though many see him as a terrible man, was simply doing what power hungry individuals have done for centuries. He simply took a page out of Christopher Columbus’ book destroying the weak and enslaving those left standing. In the case of Christopher Columbus quest for gold, he went to extreme measures to ensure he would get every last golden flake that glittered in Hai...
“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, is the rhyme embedded in children’s heads in the first lesson of US history. However, beyond the discovery of the New World, Christopher Columbus receives no other mentions. Especially no one acknowledges that he was the reason Native Americans were mistreated and kept as slaves. Although Christopher Columbus’ actions are not all honorable he should still be celebrated during Columbus Day as a brave explorer who risked his and his crew’s lives to find a new way of travel and land. His efforts bridged a gap between the New and Old World and helped feed Europe, which immensely impacts our society. Because of his dedication and bravery to be an explorer Christopher Columbus Day should be celebrated.
Christopher Columbus has been portrayed in different ways at various times throughout history. In his own time he was not famous for "discovering" a new land, but hundreds of years later he is. Slightly over one hundred years ago the United States proudly celebrated the quatercentury. Approximately 24 million people attended a great international exposition in Chicago marking the event (Thernstrom, 1992). In stark contrast is the controversy that was ignited over the 500 year anniversary of Columbus' voyages.
To me Columbus Day should NOT be a national holiday because he was only good at being a leader and taking risk. Columbus was a betrayer, greedy man and leader of criminals. Columbus is not at all worthy of having his own holiday.
Some may think Columbus is a hero and is the founder and savior of the Americas, but really he is not. Native Americans and other groups of people have been in the Americas for thousands of years before the Europeans had discovered it. I am here now to tell you why Christopher Columbus is not the “hero” we see him as.
...one to change the history books permanently. Also, too many people’s perceptual sets still believe in Columbus and unless there is absolute solid evidence no one will change the history books. It is too imbedded into the American culture that Christopher Columbus is a national icon. I believe that the Vikings have substantial evidence to support their discovery of North America and instead of celebrating Columbus Day, my calendar declares the celebration of the new Viking holiday, Bjarne Sigvatson Day, in honor of the true discoverer of America!
Even through all of the bad, Columbus day should still be a national holiday in America. As both a celebration of success and enlightenment, and as a reminder of the past. Many other people (including remaining Native American tribes) believe that the holiday either be changed or removed