Argumentative Essay On Christopher Columbus Day

Do you trust your history book to tell you everything? Maybe you shouldn’t rely on only one source. Some textbooks only skim the surface of stories. One instance of this would be the true story behind what Christopher Columbus did. Recent evidence states that Columbus abused his power and he shouldn't have a day that celebrates only him.

Columbus never even walked on what we now call the United States of America. Where ever he did land, he was motivated only by his own greed. Columbus came for the gold, spices, and slaves. In his diary, he mentioned gold 75 times just in the first two weeks, alone (Katz 13). Indians who weren’t able to find gold, were punished by having their hands cut off. Most slaves died en route to Spain. Many Indian females were taken as sex slaves, some as young as nine and ten years old. Columbus forced cooperation from the Indians by disfiguring them and using them as examples. Even worse, he used hunting dogs to tear the Indians apart. Many natives committed suicide, and murdered their own children to save them from such a horrible life. Those who survived the voyage were worked to death. Still, another huge portion of these Indians died from disease brought over by Columbus and his

     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

It was the 15th century, it was a quote unquote different century. They had many new forces and changes but that doesn’t justify what happened due to Christopher Columbus. In this i’m going to state why Columbus is a terrible person. He said Native Americans would make fine servants. With the fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever he wanted and or needed. Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but he isn’t as good of a person as we were taught. Until now some people just thought he was the guy we got the day off for. Once you learn what he’s done you realize he wasn’t just the reason we didn’t have school on a monday. He was the reason thousands of native

The celebration of Columbus “discovering” the Americas is a lie as the land was already inhabited by the Natives. He thought he had landed upon India, not the Americas. The politically correct name is “Native Americans” for a reason, because they were here first. Even though their existence went undocumented, the Indians were still a vital part of American history and present day culture as well. As

To start off, Indigenous People’s Day, or Columbus Day, Which do you prefer? First off, why is it called “Columbus Day”? Well, as stated earlier, it was named after Christopher Columbus, who as we believe today, “discovered” America. Many believe that it was him who founded the Americas, but really there could’ve been earlier settlers or even Native Americans who lived on those territories before Columbus made his way there. What is a pro of having this day named after Columbus? A source I found called “www.scholastic.com” stated, “ The holiday honoring Christopher Columbus's sighting of America on October 12, 1492, is observed in the states of the United States and also in parts of Canada, in Puerto Rico, and in some cities in Italy and Spain. Although Columbus was not the first explorer to set foot in the Western Hemisphere, his landing at San Salvador Island in what is now the Bahamas was very important. It opened the way for the settlement of America by Europeans.” So, basically we named this holiday after Columbus because it was assumed that he was one of the first to see and discover the Americas. Another source titled “www.osia.org” stated “Columbus Day celebrates the beginning of cultural exchange between America and Europe. After Columbus, came millions of European immigrants who brought their art, music, science, medicine, philosophy and religious principles to America.” From one’s point of view, it may look like Columbus did many great things that led to the development of America. But no one really knows what was at stake because of Columbus’ decisions. A con relating to the naming of Columbus Day is in a

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

Columbus Day is a holiday that celebrates Christopher Columbus an Italian explorer who sailed over 500 years ago with three ships from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean in a daring attempt to expand our knowledge of the known world in hopes of discovering new lands (Obama). He is credited with discovering the New World in 1492. Though this sounds honorable and inspiring, it was basically a search to find new lands in order to claim and take control of them, plunder their wealth, enslave their occupants and murder any who tried to stop him (Zinn). Since the United States is built on the beliefs of freedom, equality, peace, and humanity, I don’t feel that we should continue to honor and celebrate

In the beginning of October, millions of kids are relinquished from school to celebrate a holiday dedicated to one man: Christopher Columbus, a man perceived as a valiant hero credited for discovering America in 1492. Generations of Americans have passed down the belief that Columbus was an amazing explorer, but tend to overlook the horrific deeds that Columbus committed. Despite his monumental accomplishments, Columbus was a historical figure closer to Hitler than to Martin Luther King on the morality spectrum. Due to his use of slavery, treatment of Native American slaves, and the tricks he used to deceive others, Columbus was not a hero but rather a villain.

The national holiday of Columbus Day should never have become a recognized Federal holiday. Christopher Columbus did not actually discover the Americas. There were millions of indigenous people already living in the location that he was exploring. It is true he was an explorer trying to find his way to the riches of the Indies and mapping his way for Spain and Europe however, how is it a discovery when people are already living on the land? He didn't even make it to the location he was originally trying to reach. He was also a brutal man that enslaved the people living on the land he "discovered".

Some say that Columbus Day shouldn't be a holiday or that the name should be changed, I believe that we should get rid of the holiday. When you are little, you are taught Christopher Columbus discovered America and he's a good person; however, in reality, none of that is true. Columbus didn't discover America, he found some islands in the Caribbean like Haiti and Cuba. In addition, he treated the Natives there with harsh cruelties. Columbus also brought over diseases that lead to the death of many natives because they weren't exposed to measles, influenza, small pox. “Christopher Columbus introduced two phenomena that revolutionized race relations and

The second Monday in October is celebrated across America as Columbus Day. It is a celebration of the man who discovered America. In school, children are taught that Christopher Columbus was a national hero. In actuality, the man was a murderer. It is true that he found a land that was unknown to the "civilized" world, yet in this discovery, he erased the natives inhabiting the land. With slavery, warfare, and inhumane acts, Christopher Columbus and the men who accompanied him completely destroyed a people, a culture, and a land. These are not actions that should be heralded as heroic.

The United States should not celebrate Columbus Day because it celebrates the mistreatment of Native Americans. One quote from the article that demonstrates this is, “a holiday called Indigenous Peoples Day will instead recognize the contributions, and suffering of Native Americans, people who lived in the Americas before Columbus arrived.” This quote demonstrates that Columbus may have improved some lives, but he destroyed others. Every year on Columbus Day, Native Americans are forced to celebrate the murder and theft of their people, lands, and homes. They should not be subject to this cruelty. Another quote that shows the mistreatment of Native Americans throughout history is, “in the 1850s, California’s leaders wanted to destroy the