Blog #53 – Columbus Day – bad thing or good thing?
Christopher Columbus is credited with having discovered the New World in 1492, not necessarily America. How people interpret this fact is the subject of intense historical and cultural debate across the world. The day honoring the discovery, October 12, is a national holiday, but for some historians and cultures, this day is marked as one when Spanish imperialism and genocide of the Native Americans began.
Those who want to discredit Columbus Day usually start with the wave of violence, slavery and genocide of the Native Americans that began after his “discovery.” On the island of Hispanola (Haiti / Dominican Republic), the sailors left there after his first voyage were tasked with finding gold and silver and soon tried to put to work the natives of the island. In subsequent voyages, he searched Central and South America for gold, and the communicable diseases like smallpox and measles that the Europeans had would also wipe out – intentionally or not – the Native populations. Conquistadors Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro exploited divisions among the ruling tribes, Aztecs and Incas respectively, to conquer vast empires. It’s estimated that something like 90% of the 100 million Native Americans who lived in the New World were wiped out by disease, war, and famine brought on by discovery.
But was this all Columbus’ fault? His defenders say, of course not. Diseases act in random ways and are influenced by many things including stress, food (or lack thereof), poverty and other cultural or economic factors. Discovery could have brought some of these conditions on, but they weren’t necessarily the primary cause. Columbus is also given credit for having been a visionary, having convinced the Spanish monarchs to provide him with three ships to sail the Atlantic in search of a newer, quicker route to Asia around the earth. In fact, Columbus failed in his attempt to find that quicker trade route to Asia. It would be Magellan who would circumnavigate the globe. And, Columbus is being blamed for what came in his wake – the Spanish conquistadors, the destruction of Native peoples, and even the African slave trade since that was linked with the opening up of the New World. Too much, much too much indeed, to put on one man’s shoulders.
Another way of looking at this is that when we celebrate Columbus Day, we celebrate America. Should we acknowledge both the good and the bad that come with America / Columbus? Or is it more patriotic to revel in America in a “Team America” way with unquestioning loyalty?
250 words minimum response.
Sources:
Bigelow, Bill. “Zinn Education Project.” Zinn Education Project. N.p., 2003. Web. 19 Aug. 2012. <http://zinnedproject.org/posts/1497>.
Horwitz, Tony. A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America. New York: Picador USA, 2009. Print.
Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. “New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America.” 1997. Taking Sides. 13th ed. Vol. 1. Dubuque, IA: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2009. 25+. Print.
Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. “Virgin Soils Revisited.” 2003. Taking Sides. 13th ed. Vol. 1. Dubuque, IA: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2009. 33-40. Print.
Without Columbus doing what he did, everything would be different. On Columbus Day we need to remember him and all the great things he did for us today and also for the people back then. Since most people credit him for discovering the New World, we should also look at some of the bad things that happened because of his discovery. Even though Columbus didn’t know it, he still brought all these diseases from Europe and started to spread them to the Natives that were already in America at the time of his arrival. These diseases like smallpox and measles would unintentionally wipe out the Native population. On the defending side of Christopher Columbus, it was not exactly his fault for the diseases spreading. On Columbus Day we need to remember the good things he did because all the “bad” things were not truly his fault. People should not blame the destruction of Native people on Columbus because HE was not the person who was disturbing them and enslaving them. Columbus Day needs to be a time of remembrance of this man, who found our country, and with all his courage and bravery, sail to the “Asia” which turned out to be the New World, now known as North America. Americans should look at Columbus Day as a day to remember all the great things he did for us and talk about the bad things as well because without all these “bad” things that he did, it doesn’t beat the positive ways he has made America how it is today.
Whether Columbus Day is a good or bad thing may not be the right question to ask. The real question should be what are the reasons we recognize it. Everything we do in life and in history has its pros and cons. The Industrial Revolution brought us great innovation with easier and faster ways to do things, increasing economies throughout the world, but along with that, we got pollution and sweatshops and child labor. Even the World Wars, which caused millions of deaths, brought citizens closer together, took women out of the shadows and brought us better ways to defend ourselves. Columbus Day brought us a new life with religious freedom, opportunity and eventually independence. Our country wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for Columbus discovering it, and that is something to celebrate. On this day, we celebrate discovery. We celebrate new opportunity. We celebrate freedom. However, that doesn’t lessen the atrocities that were done to the Native Americans. The fact is the early settlers did ruin their lives. They killed thousands and thousands of natives on their own land and treated them as if they were dirt. But if it wasn’t Christopher Columbus, it would’ve been someone later on. Eventually, their land would be invaded. They weren’t the first group of people to be persecuted, and they won’t be the last. Yes, what happened was terrible, but things like that aren’t rare in history. Jews, Mormons, Mexicans, Muslims and many other groups have been persecuted in the past. That never stopped any of them though, they kept going and life went on, the stage passed. Columbus Day is a day to celebrate new opportunity, just as we celebrate Independence Day, but it is also a day to recognize loss, as we recognize September 11th. I don’t think Columbus Day has to be either good or bad. It can be both, just like everything else in life and in history.
My opinion on Columbus Day is that it should continue to be celebrated as a national holiday, and it should be viewed in a positive way. Although Christopher Columbus did not necessarily discover the United States of America, he did discover the New World. Although a lot of destruction to the Native Americans resulted in his discovery, it was not Columbus’s fault. How could Christopher Columbus have known he was bringing such disease and destruction to the New World? I do not believe that Christopher Columbus was going to the Americas with the intentions of causing mass destruction of the Native American population. Christopher Columbus is not, and should not be responsible for all of his fellow Spanish conquistadors. It is said the 90% of the 100 million Native Americans who lived were killed by disease, war, and famine brought on by the discovery. But I do not believe these are the only reason, the Native Americans did not have reliable systems of clean water and steady food. Too much of the death and devastation was put on Christopher Columbus. One man is not responsible for the death of almost 100 million Native Americans. He was an explorer just looking for a faster trade route, but what ended up happening was finding the Americans and even though the after math was terrible a lot more than just death came out of Columbus’s discovery. Christopher Columbus was a brilliant and great man who should be continued to be celebrated as a national holiday every year on October 12th.
Columbus could have been considered good and/or bad. He was bad because when he went to the new world he enslaved many Native Americans. Also, he was known to be the most likely cause of all the diseases that were brought to the new world like smallpox and measles. These diseases were the reason that all the Native Americans were wiped out. Although this may have happened because of Columbus coming to the new world, it was not only Columbus’ fault; it could have also been any of the other Europeans that went to the new world. It also could have been a coincidence that diseases started to spread when Columbus came. The diseases could have come from food, or the lack of food. A lot is being blamed on Columbus even though some of it came after him.
Columbus was also a good thing because he discovered the new world and that is when things began to modernize. Without Columbus there is no guarantee that America would have been discovered.
So therefore, all the things that are being blamed on Columbus may not be just his fault. They could be the fault of others who came after or blamed more evenly on all the people who came with Columbus to the new world. At the same time Columbus can still be blamed for some of what happened to the Native Americans. I don’t think that anyone will know if Columbus was or was not to fully blame for what happened when he went to the new world.
“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” famously quoted by George Santayana in his book Reason in Common Sense. I believe that Columbus day should not be accredited as a National holiday, but should have its place for remembrance in history. We should acknowledge both the good and the bad that come with the discovery of the new world. There are many reasons as to why Columbus Day should not be given its own national holiday. Columbus day is very important to our history and it is a great thing that for so long we have whole heartedly been patriotic about the topic and celebrated in a positive light. There is nothing wrong with celebrating the discovery of the “new world”. It is extreme to say that columbus day is the celebration of a genocide but we need to understand how they are connected. Not given the proper knowledge and understanding on the topic it would be uneducated, uninformed and ignorant to say that unquestioning loyalty to a nation is patriotic. Events that followed columbus’ visit to north america were detrimental and they could have been managed much better. This was not the first nor the last time something like this has happened in history. In this day and age with our ease of internet access and the ability to communicate globally in real time should be enough of a reason to move forward from something like this ever happening again. We need to focus on the education of our youth to teach them to do what’s right, not to be a “patriot”. A real patriot would be one of the world, but one who understands and respects his culture and where he is from. We are able to live in peace together now. Hopefully gained knowledge and education as well as understanding of morality between different populations will be enough to prevent events like this from happening again. Having a greater understanding of columbus day now, will help our future understand why we have changed for the better and the events that took place that allowed us to see what things we need to improve on. The United States is still a fairly young nation and without full knowledge and understanding of our history we cannot blame thus “patriots” for supporting the national holiday, they are supporting a great event in history that led us all to the homes and safety we have here today but, these people need to understand the image they are portraying could be offensive, controversial and uneducated. We need to teach these people, teach our youth and spread the message across the globe. The United States will make mistakes, but we need to try as hard as we can to all put forth an effort in moving forward in the right direction.
Columbus day is commemorating the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492. But many people see this holiday as a day to look back on the genocide that took out what is said to be 90% of the 100 million Native Americans who lived in the New World. Also many see this genocide as columbus’ fault. I think that Columbus day should be seen as a good thing and a celebration of or amazing country. Columbus Day recognizes the success of a great explorer who founded the first permanent European settlement in the New World. The influx of Columbus in 1492 marks the beginning of documented history in America. While on his courageous explorations, there was no way that he could have had any knowledge that he was bringing over a deadly disease that the Native Americans weren’t immune to. This situation was out of columbus’ control which concludes that he should not be at fault. Columbus is also blamed for the the African slave trade due to his discovery of the new world. But again, there was no way that he could control the actions of those years into the future. Because of the many horrible the things that came along with Columbus’ discovery of the new world, people look past all the marvelous things that he has done for not only our country, but the world. While still keeping the loss’ during the explorations in our mind, we should celebrate Columbus and all his glory.
What Christopher Columbus did in 1942, perceived good or bad, was without a doubt a momentous day in our worlds history. The question is, was he a barbaric man that brought only bad, such as slavery and genocide to the Native Americans, or was he the heroic explorer that we were told he was growing up? Through the evidence that I gathered I firmly believe that Columbus Day should be a well respected, celebrated day by every American. Though Columbus may not have handled his discovery with the civil attitude that we would expect from an explorer today, what he discovered is the glorious land that we all live our lives on today. I’m not saying that the wrong doing Columbus did to the Arawak Tribe should be forgotten and tossed aside like a dirty, hole filled pair of socks. It’s impossible to overlook the fact that when he came to the new land he brought with him disease, hunger, and violence but is it really fair to peg Christopher Columbus with complete blame? When he brought Disease to the new world he did not use it as a weapon solely against the natives. We mustn’t forget that his crew and others like it, was fighting the diseases themselves and could hardly control the spread of the sickness. Think of it like a school or business, if a single person walks in with a slight cold and accidentaly passes it on and gets the entire community sick the originally diseased had no control or intent of causing so much suffering to everybody in the community. Without Christopher Columbus’ discovery our nation would be nowhere near where we are today, and for this reason the American people should do nothing but celebrate when the calendar reads October 12th.
I think that we should continue to celebrate Columbus Day. I think that we should do this because by doing so we are kind of celebrating the creation of our nation. Had Columbus not found the new world and instead reached his original destination who knows where we would be now in our lives. Yes he did bring famine and disease to the Americas but he also was sent on a journey from the queen she sent him to complete his journey using whatever means that he would need to use. I also think we should continue to celebrate because we have been doing it for so long why we should change anything starting now. Should we have a day to remember all the Native Americans that were killed in genocide over time, I do believe that we should and say that we should still celebrate Columbus Day as well. A lot of people think that Columbus caused destruction to the natives it was not only him that had done so it was also the conquistadors who tricked the natives into being they’re allies than stabbed them in the back and took them as slaves. Way back when around that time explorers used to take natives as trophies for what they had found on their expeditions to new places all over the world, so why aren’t we bagging on them for doing so. They just did the same thing they that Columbus did but we make a bigger deal out of it because it affects us more. In conclusion I think we should continue to celebrate Columbus Day.
I think that when we celebrate Columbus Day we are celebrating more than just one man and the “discovery” of America. Expansion was inevitable and in fact Columbus achieved more than he originally set out to do. Although he didn’t find the quickest route to India, he ultimately joined two worlds. Yes his discovery came at a cost, but growth always does. The new world could not remain in isolation forever. Therefor exposure to disease for the Natives was going to happen eventually. War and famine existed in the Americas long before Columbus set sail. We can never know how these factors would have affected the Natives had Columbus not appeared. Therefore it seems illogical and simplistic to blame Columbus for all the hardships the Natives went through. In fact we can argue that Columbus sets in motion the events that bring us to the world we live in today. The colonies made possible by Columbus’ discovery were filled with strong, independent people who wanted to form their own society. People who wanted to escape oppression. And with these ideas in mind they set about creating a new society. This is only possible because of the vast land Columbus “found”. Again yes this new society came at a price. The colonists, the Natives, faced hardships and of course the slave labor forced to build the new world. But these were all people who had faced hardship before. In the end, Columbus cannot solely be blamed for the hardships of the time but he can be credited for setting in motion the events that created the world we live in today.
Columbus day is a day that should be celebrated in our history but I do not believe that it should be a national holiday. Yes there are both good and bad to the argument over this topic but It would be harsh to blame Columbus with everything that happened to the Native American people. Think of you or me back then as a discoverer trying to find a quick route to Asia. Our intention would not be to start the genocide of the Native American people. Although this may be true, Columbus himself did have effects on the Natives directly. Enslaving Indians to look for the gold you are looking for would not be one of the things we recognize Columbus for. We should realize both the good and bad of his actions while also keeping in mind that we would not be here if it wasn’t for Columbus. Yes someone else would probably have come to find the New World but finding new land when at the time most people in the world did not know existed is one very large discovery that is worth being remembered in our history no matter what came from it. Many settlers came over to the new land killing thousands if not millions of Native Americans as a result of the discovery of the New World but if Columbus didn’t find it someone else would have and we would be having this same argument just over the same actions of a different individual. I think this shows that we shouldn’t blame Columbus for the horrible acts that were carried out among Native American people. We should recognize Columbus as one of the greatest explorers of his time and of our history. This does not mean that we should forget about what was caused from his discovery, but instead be able to realize both and see the greater outcome that came from it, the discovery of America, which is why Columbus day should always be recognized and celebrated but no necessarily as a national holiday.
Columbus day is a holiday that could celebrate or not. Before you choose to acknowledge it as a holiday you have to know what he did in order to make the Americas what they are today. His accidental discovery of the New World changed the future; the question is was his discovery good or not. He was not the first person to arrive to the new world; there were many people before him to discover the land. I don’t know why they didn’t think of that back then. Many forget that the Natives were living peacefully and disease free before Columbus. He brought over small pox, famine, and war. These three factors killed many tribes. Those who weren’t killed had to become slaves to the English settlers. This is why him having his own holiday creates so much controversy today. I feel like when this holiday was created in 1937, they didn’t care about what he did to make the Americans into what they are now. I believe that he shouldn’t have his own holiday. What he did wouldn’t be accepted today if someone repeated his actions so why should he have his own holiday? He was a murder and more but without him, where would we be today? He stumbled across the Americas looking for India. He got more than he bargained for to me. He was power crazy! Having one of the largest discoveries know to man went to his head. His actions don’t over look the good that he has done. Christopher Columbus deserves to be discussed in class to learn about what he did but because of his actions he doesn’t deserve a national holiday.
Columbus Day never has been and never will be a holiday worthy of celebration. The only thing I really remember about it from when I was younger was the groaning I felt like doing whenever one of my teachers would launch into the story, which I’d heard thousands of times before. But now, it’s not the irritation of hearing the story that gets to me. It’s the fact that we’re “celebrating” that he stumbled upon Hispaniola and managed to kill off almost all the natives there. Contrary to all the little-kid stories about how he sailed the ocean blue and all that, he was terrible to the natives. Columbus’ mission brought disease, which he couldn’t control, but he also enslaved the people, which he had total control over. Many times natives were overworked and killed when they could no longer contribute to the futile quest for gold the Spanish directed. Columbus also went back to Europe and told of the opportunities that lay there, and soon enough, two more conquistadors were on their way- Pizarro and Cortes. Those two names to me are practically synonymous to “mass murderers”. Pizarro tore through South America, and killed or enslaved every Incan he saw, while Cortes and his men terrorized the Aztecs, and all of this was simply to look for gold. Columbus is also given credit for “discovering” the New World. The fact of the matter is that there were two Vikings, Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericsson, who landed in North America several years before Columbus had even thought about campaigning his idea to European royalty. Millions of lives could have been spared, had Columbus treated the natives kindly and instructed the future Spaniards to do the same, but he simply annihilated them. Now add that to the fact that he’s given credit for something he didn’t do. What’s there to celebrate?
Columbus Day is an American holiday that a majority of people have good thoughts about and the minority not so much. Personally, I think that Columbus Day needs to be continued on being celebrated in a positive way, in the thought that he was just an explorer with hopes of finding a new world. Columbus set out to find India, but instead found what is now the United States. We all know that the technology back then is not nearly what it is now, and when historians and websites tell us that Columbus’ arrival and disease wiped out 90% of the Native Americans, it is true. The part that I do not think is true is the fact that they say he knew that the diseases would wipe out the population. Columbus didn’t know that his germs could create homicide for the Native Americans. Also, it wasn’t just diseases that wiped out the Native Americans. It was also two other things- war and famine. The wars could have been between their own tribes, as well as battles with Columbus and his men. Famine can happen anytime, not just because of the Americans. Their food and water sources were also unreliable and the water was unsanitary. If we look at the big picture it seems illogical to blame almost 100 million deaths on just one man and his small crew. We really need to thank Christopher Columbus. Without him, we wouldn’t live in the same world we would live in today. He was just a man with a dream of finding a new world, and he did just that.
The story goes, “Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492..”.Christopher Columbus is a very iconic name in American History that is mostly thought of as “heroic”. Another word that is synonymous with his name is a “founder”, but most people don’t know the other side of the story.We celebrate this holiday every year but we celebrate without knowing what really happened. I think we should acknowledge both the good and the bad that come with America and how it came to be. I realize holidays are meant to be cheerful and usually aren’t associated with disease, genocide, and slavery. To simply look past all this isn’t right to the people who lost ancestors due to Columbus findings. 90% of 100 million Native American wiped out from disease, war, and famine. And yet we still cheer Columbus on. I am not saying he did not play a major part in the findings of America; even though he believed America was India. But I am saying almost destroying a whole race is not worthy of the high praise that he receives. If Columbus hadn’t failed in his initiative goal of trying to find a quicker trade route to Asia, he wouldn’t have passed along smallpox and other sicknesses to the Native Americans. Like I said before, without Columbus stumbling across America I don’t know where I would be today. But there is two parts to a whole, and the majority of Americans only know the brighter half. I feel if they saw the other half, they would really wonder and rethink their opinion of their precious “founder”.
Without Christopher Columbus, the New World wouldn’t have been discovered. Although people say that Columbus did horrible things when he brought the Europeans over, we should still acknowledge the fact that if it hadn’t been for Columbus, there is a possibility that we wouldn’t be where we are today. Columbus Day should continue to be a national holiday but we should also be aware of the bad things that came along with Columbus from Europe. Although I believe that Columbus had mostly good intentions coming over from Europe, the matter of the fact is that he brought many diseases, which wiped out a large amount of the Natives who had originally populated the Americas. What people knew in 1492 was nothing compared to what people know today. There wasn’t any way for Columbus to know that the Natives wouldn’t be immune to the European’s diseases. Columbus also is blamed for bringing the slave trade to the Americas. Although Columbus brought many bad things to the New World, such as diseases and slaves, we must also recognize that if he hadn’t discovered it, the world we live in today could be totally different. Christopher Columbus did great things for America and as American citizens we should be grateful but as human beings we need to also remember the damage he caused. Christopher Columbus day is neither a bad nor good day, but a day where we reflect on a man who changed the world in so many ways. He was a man who repopulated the Americas with foreigners, but also a man who killed off far too many the natives to do so. We must be able to recognize and differentiate between the bad and the good that came from Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the Americas.
I believe that we should continue to celebrate Columbus Day Nationally and do it in a positive light. In school we learn that Columbus’ “discovery” is very controversial, however Columbus is the face of it all. Columbus allows people to pinpoint a name to the discovery. From the time we were children we’ve learned about how he came over on the Mayflower and found America. Columbus gives Americans someone to believe in. Even if the events he is surrounded around aren’t necessarily factual, it allows America to have a hero. I also believe that because Columbus was European it is more widely accepted. Back then and maybe even today the American people want the man accredited for discovering Americas to look like them. I believe that they simply would not have written it into history if the discoverer of the Americas was Native American or any other race that was once considered inferior. I also think that we cannot blame Columbus for the horrible events that followed his “discovery”. With the lack of technology, it was impossible for his to know that people in this New World might not be immune to the infections that he would bring over. The Natives could’ve been affected another way. Columbus coming to Americas could be considered natural selection almost because the Native Americans that did survive the smallpox epidemic then became immune to it and passed their immunity down generation to generation. We also have to consider that Columbus was merely one man. There were many other explorers who treated the Natives horribly. The Spanish forced them to work in awful conditions. So maybe even if Columbus didn’t come to the Americas another group could’ve come shortly after and have the same affect. Overall Columbus is America’s hero. He’s our go – to guy for the discovery of America and even with the bad that he brought we should celebrate his ad the pioneer that he was.
Columbus Day is a national holiday celebrated for Christopher Columbus when he discovered the New World. Finding the “New World” was pretty much a surprise for Columbus, his intentions wasn’t to go there at all. Originally Columbus wanted to sail to Asia, where he retrieved three ships and 90 men from the Spaniards to cross the Atlantic and find it. Instead, Columbus actually arrived at an island on the Bahamas that he thought was Asia, and as he traveled further he thought he was in China. Soon Columbus found out that he had not reached the places he thought he did, but Columbus was a visionary, and some years later decided to travel on to South America. While he was traveling along his voyage he discovered a separate continent. Columbus had discovered the “New World” (North America) even though he still thought Asia was somewhere near. I think Columbus Day is a good holiday because Columbus had discovered a new continent no other Europeans new of. Also Columbus had a lot of failures of thinking he discovered places he actually didn’t, so it was a relief that he actually found a new place. But what Columbus failed to realize was that discovering the New World might have been a great thing for him and the Europeans, but in reality they were destroying the lives of the people who already lived in the New World. The Europeans and Spaniards threatened the Indians way of life. Overall I don’t think everything that happened with the Indians was entirely Columbus’s fault, him discovering the New World had both its good and bad aspects.
Throughout our experience as students we are often reminded of the great accomplishments of Christopher Columbus. And every year, during the week of October 12 these accomplishments are re-enforced. Throughout our learnings of Columbus we often hear about the Native Americans. And the fact the Columbus “discovered” the Americas, while the Native Americans were already hear doesn’t make any sense. The Native Americans are credited with nothing, but teaching the explorers how to farm. The sad part is, Native Americans are basically treated like foreigners in THEIR OWN country. If you look at European Americans today, they call themselves “Americans”. If you look at a “Native” American today they are called “Native Americans”. But Native means originally from. So in a way the prefix Native is acting as a way to alienate the natives. Columbus does deserve recognition for his findings, but it does not qualify for a national holiday. It is more celebrating the works of Europeans, and therefore should be celebrated by Europeans. If this holiday is to be anywhere in the Americas, it should be celebrated in the Caribbean. Another reason it shouldn’t be celebrated here is because, 90% of the Native Americans were killed off. That in itself defies Americas morals. And for that Columbus Day should not be celebrated in America.
David G.
Columbus day is just as big as a holiday to me as bicycle day (April 19th). There is some good that Columbus did do, for example he did have a great hair. Unfortunately there is also just too many bad things that he did to not overshadow his great hair. He raped, murdered, and pillaged his way through is discoveries. Columbus was just in the right place at the right time. He was from a family that was well experienced with navigation and exploring. Columbus’ roots and the fact that he was rich, white, and Spanish at the perfect time,(beginning of trade route exploration), all contributed to him becoming the face of the New World travel. The strangest thing about this holiday is that it celebrates his biggest mistake. Columbus meant to find a faster route to Asia/India but instead found the other half of the world.
As an American I also do not understand why we thank Columbus for discovering the land our nation currently rest on. He discovered Hispaniola, current day Haiti. I could maybe understand why the Haitians would go crazy for the guy but Columbus never set foot in what is today the U.S. On top of this Columbus is more of a forefather to the real explorer’s, the Conquistadors. Although in many circumstances these savages were more brutal that Columbus, they were the ones who made the more important discoveries. If I decided who deserved the holiday Columbus currently holds that would be Juan Ponce de Léon. Ponce de Léon was the first European explorer (Conquistador) to reach what is now the U.S. So if anything I have no idea why we are thanking Columbus, he was a guy who was just in the right place at the right time who was only a forefather to the true explorers. Lastly I don’t even see how Patriotism is related to the topic of Christopher Columbus. In his whole life did he not hear or even fabricate the idea of the great nation we live in today, say thanks to George Washington and Benny Franklin for that one guys.
Columbus Day should not be a National Holiday for many reasons. First off, he never actually discovered the United States of America. He only ever went to islands south of it. Secondly, he spread sickness to the native, enslaved them, and slaughtered them mercilessly for gold and silver in the name of Spain. Thirdly, it is used by big business as a scam for the consumer to come into their store and buy more useless crap to fill their lives. Columbus kills natives and we get sales on shoes, makes complete sense, right? If anybody should have a national holiday, it should be the island of Haiti and The D.R., and they should use it as a day of mourning for their slain ancestors. People use the argument, “Without Columbus, there would be no America, because no one would have discovered it.” I say that that is crap because supposedly, Leaf Erickson and the Vikings traveled to America. Also eventually, someone would have come west and found it, it was just a matter of time in an age of sea-fairing exploration.
Another reason that we shouldn’t celebrate Columbus Day is because his discovery (again, not the mainland) was an accident. he was looking for India, China, or any country where he could get his hands on exotic spices to take back to Europe. He was just looking for a way to get fame and fortune, of course, he used the excuse “in the name of Spain”. The United States of America should not celebrate the “accomplishments” of another white guy with a major superiority complex, who never actually discover the land that celebrates him.
-Chuck C.
I feel as though Columbus Day, and Christopher Columbus’s hard work should not go unacknowledged, because of his hard work and dedication we have modern North America. Saying that, I believe that what he and many others did when they got should not fly under the radar. The question is was his discovery god thing or a bad thing? Both, but I don’t understand what the hoopla is about. If he didn’t do what he did the world could possibly be a lot different. Also the genocide of the native Americans and the slave trade can’t all be put on Columbus when all he did was find this “New world”. Although he was the first one on the new world he shouldn’t get put up into this position where we, in our heads, electing him to be to the superior that controls all the decisions. Starting genocide and exiling the native Americans might not have been his and only him idea. On the other hand his actions almost wiped out an entire race of people, but not jusdt any people, people that where there thousands of years in advance. People who had already created a life and a legacy full of generations of history on those grounds, just to have been shoved by some diseased ridden what man, whose only upper hand is a gun. Columbus Day is a day where mostly Americans can celebrate being who they are and where they are, but to some it is a day where I series of tragic events started. Whether or not you think this day is a holiday or not it still need to be remembered as a day where the world changed either for the better or the worst.
The Native American plight has been long and winding and the start of it is usually attributed to Columbus. While patriotism is important, I don’t think it’s nearly important enough to excuse the death of millions of innocent people. I’m not a Native American myself, so I don’t think that I can really understand how they feel about it and I don’t think it’s my place to make a judgment based on the little amount of information that I know. From the little bit that I know about Native Americans and the genocide of their people, from years of having the same bits of information repeated since grade 5, I know that it was an awful thing and could’ve been stopped if the right state of mind had been put into play rather than that of greed and control. Should we blindly be proud of our country? No, we’ve done a lot wrong and not much to change and apologize for our actions. We are a good country and we have done a lot of good and Columbus Day is the start of that, even if he didn’t actually land in what is now the United States. If celebrating Columbus Day is such an issue I think it would be a good time to have a nationwide discussion about the good and bad things that America as a country has done in the past not only related to the Native Americans but in general. It’s a good opportunity to have a unbiased discussion to make people more aware of the problems that people of different groups face as of a result of the discussions that The United States has made.
I believe that Columbus Day is a day to be celebrated. It was the early beginnings of our country and I understand anyone and everyone who feels excited and joyous on this day. On the other hand, I think it is important to know of the bad things that came of this day as well. Some Americans may not even know about the consequences of this day and it is important that at a young age, kids be taught what really happened. So although, yes, there are awful things that occurred due to Columbus and his discovery of the New World (i.e. the genocide of natives and the slave trade), I do not think that all the blame should be on his shoulders. Actually, I don’t think any of the blame should. Columbus was a curious, intelligent visionary and that is something to celebrate. It is definitely something we celebrate in America today. If Columbus had not acted on his curiosity, someone else would have eventually and the same chain of events would have occurred anyway. Imagine if today we lived in 15th century Europe and still had no idea about the Americas. Imagine if no one jumped at the chance to search for them and so no one ever did. The resources and the technologies and even the culture we have today would not exist. “Globalization” is such a relevant and important term in this day and age and I believe that it was important to Columbus too. I think we should really be grateful for Columbus because I think despite the tragedies that happened then, we’ve come out strong and we have become a great nation.