Argument Against Columbus Day

However, opposing historians address this fact through varying degrees of approval. In A Patriot's History of the United States, Schweikart and Allen do not mention any of Columbus’ faults, and refer to the massacre of Aztecs by Cortés and his men as a “stunning victory” (Schweikart ) in order to preserve their goal in retelling history from a patriotic standpoint. Because Schweikart and Allen choose to ignore the undeniable brutalities and damage inflicted on native people and societies, they fail to recognize the importance of addressing these issues as a root of racial intolerance. On the other hand, Zinn’s documentation provides a far more in-depth description of the injustices faced by the native and states, “Even allowing for the imperfection of myths, it is enough to make us question, for that time and ours, the excuse of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of Western civilization” (Zinn). As a social activist, Zinn’s primary focus is calling out flawed systems and actions within history, but by doing so, he disregards the positive outcomes of European exploration. Conversely, Mintz points out numerous advantages from exploration, pointing out that “Columbus's voyage of discovery… contributed to the development of the modern concept of progress”

Previously, Columbus was the “person who found the Americas,” but that is historically incorrect. We celebrate Columbus day as if he was a hero who saved mankind but he did the exact opposite. Zinn explains how much the Native Americans suffered and their perspective during Columbus's “discovery” of the Bahamas. We learn that because of his discovery, everyone was able to benefit from it but we never learn specifically how his actions affected the Arawaks.

Should we celebrate Columbus Day? Columbus Day is a day off of school and work for most Americans every year in October. We celebrate this national holiday on October 12, but do we know why? Christopher Columbus has been credited for finding America. As the old saying goes, he sailed the ocean blue in 1492.

Christopher Columbus has been viewed as a hero for several centuries. Children in elementary schools all over the nation are taught that he discovered America. However, there were many other people who were indigenous to the land already and the Vikings arrived in America almost 500 years before Columbus. Christopher Columbus, as it turned out, was responsible for widespread genocide; he permitted his men to rape, murder, mutilate and enslave indigenous people. The evil deeds of Columbus far outweigh the few accomplishments he achieved. It doesn’t make sense for the United States to recognize this supposed Christian with a

     The spirit and values of a nation are reflected in the nation’s heroes. Christopher Columbus has been regarded as an American hero since 1792. Every year Columbus Day is held on the second Monday in October to honor the man and his legacy. However, many people debate whether or not Columbus Day should be celebrated. I believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated in the United States because he opened up the New World to Europe, inspired a spirit of exploration and adventure that still lasts today, and he showed the importance of diversity and understanding of different cultures.

Although Columbus Day is used as the celebration between two sides of the world merging and creating an entire empire, it is also widely looked down upon for the way the merge was completed. “Upon arriving in the Bahamas, the explorer and his men forced the native peoples they found there into slavery.” This not only started the transatlantic slave trade, but also started a genocide that lead to the death of millions. Europeans also brought with them new diseases that they had no idea they were carrying, these diseases are but are not limited to smallpox and influenza. The natives feel the need for a new holiday knows as Indigenous Peoples Day. For the Native Americans, “‘Indigenous Peoples Day’ reimagines Columbus Day and changes a celebration of colonialism into an opportunity to reveal

Changing the way Native American history is taught in mainstream education is not an elaborate or complex addition that would be a hindrance. In reality, as a start, changing the way a few common lessons are taught would bring light to the situation. In particular, since 1937 the United States has celebrated “Columbus day”. Recently, some states are changing the holiday from “Columbus”, a man who accidentally found himself in the North America while thinking the entire time he was in India, to “Indigenous people’s day”. Changing the name of this day means profoundly changing the meaning. Diana King, who teaches at Waubun High School in Minnesota says she sees Columbus day as, “an opportunity to focus on the power of survival.” Columbus/Indigenous people’s day should be a day of remorse and reverence. Remorse for the millions of

Indigenous: originating or occurring naturally in a particular place. In the United States, Christopher Columbus is honored as a hero who discovered this country, but he should be seen as a invader who enslaved and seized the native people. California undoubtedly made the appropriate decision to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day because how can America say Columbus discovered the United States when the Native Americans originated and inhabited the land first? The world continues to observe invaders as brave conquerors. The hidden truth is, the world honors those with fair skin as the heroes while the people with dark skin are seen and treated as less than human. Columbus Day was invented by the Knights of Columbus so their kids have a Catholic hero to look up to. Due to lobbying, Franklin Roosevelt signed Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The notion of Christopher Columbus discovering America is arrogant because Native Americans inhabited the land thousands of years before Columbus was even born. DNA evidence even suggests that the first settlers of South America were of Polynesian decent before the Vikings. On October 12th, 1492 Columbus arrived in the Bahamas which was occupied by the kind people of Lucayans, Taínos and Arawaks. In his diary, Columbus noted how friendly these people were. Seeing this as an advantage, he enslaved them to work in his gold mines. Half of the Native population died after only two years. If the Natives did not meet the working

Columbus is seen as a great man who colonized the Americas but in reality he introduced three horrible acts which include slavery, genocide, and racism. Columbus was the first man to introduce slavery with native people from the Caribbeans. He encouraged his men to rape women as young as nine and forced labor which eventually led to malnutrition and disease. Columbus started transatlantic slave trade by imported numbers of Africans from Haiti to work for him which lead to depopulation. In the Americas Columbus was wiping out a whole population of native Americans so that he could claim the land for himself. This first started when Columbus hung natives in rows of thirteen “in honor of the Redeemer and His 12 apostles.” Columbus eventually ruined two generations of native Caribbeans along with his Spanish discoverers. We shouldn’t celebrate Columbus day because we’re practically being racist towards both native Caribbeans and Hatians because we’re teaching the victims that what happened to their people was perfectly fine. Columbus should not be praised with his own holiday because of his cruelty to native Caribbeans, native Hatians, and native

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean and discovered what we now know as the Americas… or so it’s been taught. In all actuality, there were already Native people who had been living in the continents for thousands of years. Since 1937, the US has used this “discovery” as a holiday known as Columbus Day to celebrate a man who established the beginning of colonization of the New World. While Columbus did begin the colonization of the Americas, he was not the one who discovered them. History tends to be told from the privileged perspective which is why it’s taught that Columbus discovered these lands. The celebration of Columbus Day promotes the idea of colonization and the marginalization of Native Americans; people also believe it

Christopher Columbus is a famous explorer that is celebrated yearly in America, with his national holiday, Columbus day. However, many people do not know all the negative things he did. America should not celebrate Columbus Day because of his negative legacy, his actions, and his lack of accomplishments. Slavery, death, and rape were all part of Columbus’ negative legacy. He had negative actions such as he brought dogs to attack people, caused Native Americans to end their lives, and cut Natives hands off.

There has been a heated discussion about changing columbus day to native peoples day. This argument for getting rid of columbus day is flawed and quite hypocritical. This group Is claiming we should get rid of columbus day due to the fact he killed and enslaved the native people of the nations he visited. Christopher columbus and his men did kill and enslave the native people but, that was normal for that time period. Also how could Christopher columbus kill so many with less than 200 men? The answer is simple, he joined the ongoing tribal warfare that was taking place at the time. The tribes there already had mass graves, slaughtered and enslaved each other. This didn’t just start when columbus came around, the aztecs were

Christopher Columbus may have first left his mark on the Americas in the 15th century, but the United States didn’t establish a federal holiday in his honor until 1937 (Dan Fitcher). Commissioned by Spanish king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to explore Asia, Columbus instead sailed to the new world in 1492 (Dan Fitcher). He first come ashore in the Bahamas later making his way to Cuba and the island of Hispaniola (now home of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Believing that he had located China and Japan, Columbus founded the first Spanish colony in the Americas with the help of nearly 40 crew members. The following spring he presented Queen Isabella and King

Now, in our present society, people are rethinking the goodness of Columbus and the actual impact that he had on our world. People feel that the killing of the American Indians was “unethical and morally wrong,” says Janet Mckay in an article from TIME magazine (“Columbus Day in Cali” TIME MAGAZINE Oct. 15, 1995, pg. 17). When Columbus made the Voyage to the Americas it was a different time, a different way of life. People thought differently than we do today. In 1492 there were many internal conflicts in many countries. Fighting was a thing that was normal.

Whether viewed as a monster who destroyed ancient civilizations or a legendary figure who led society to where it is today, Christopher Columbus remains a greatly controversial historical center point as his impact on civilization then, and now, have sparked ongoing debates for centuries. But despite the greatly exaggerated slander against him, Columbus should be revered and celebrated as a hero for his contributions to societal development instead of hated for the blatant lies created by mainstream media in an effort to demonize an iconic historical figure in an attempt to push anti-western sentiment.