Argumentative Essay: Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?

A common belief about Christopher Columbus was that he discovered the United States, in 1492. According to Michael Berliner, this is not the politically correct view because before Columbus arrived, many individuals had settled in America (Source D). These indigenous people were considered American Indians, mostly consisting of Indian, Chinese, and Mongolian individuals. When Columbus arrived in America, the natives looked up to Columbus and his people because

Celebrating Columbus day is not a suitable thought. Columbus Day honors Christopher Columbus who’s known for being an explorer who discovered the first everlasting European colonization in the New World. Columbus day is to celebrate the start of the trading culture between America and Europe. It was first celebrated on October 12, 1792, when the New York Society of Tammany honored Columbus on the 300th anniversary of his first journey.

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.

     Throughout all of our years that we are taught about world history, we are led to believe that Columbus was one of the greatest explorers of all time. In my mind there is no question about whether Christopher Columbus discovered America; of course he did, its Columbus! However, this is a highly debated issue and through writings by authors Jeffery Hart and James W. Loewen we will investigate the true importance of Columbus.

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.

Columbus Day is a holiday widely celebrated throughout the Americas. It is a holiday commemorating the voyage, Christopher Columbus made for when he landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. “Christopher Columbus was an Italian-born explorer who set sail in August 1492, bound for Asia with backing from the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.” His voyage was so successful that when he returned to Spain, he came with goods that the Europeans had never seen. The discovery of new merchandise brought about the Age of Exploration and in 1937, October 12th was officially named Columbus Day and nationally celebrated in the United States by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Christopher Columbus is commonly known as the “discoverer” of the Americas. From a young age students are taught all the wonderful things he did for our land and how well he interacted with the Natives. Although the truth is disregarded and as students grow, they come to learn that Columbus was not a hero in fact. Columbus came close to causing a genocide of the Native Americans, and basically began the “white power” movement that America is forced to deal with today. The truth of what Christopher Columbus did makes him no better than Hitler, yet America still praises him as an important figure in our history. The actions of Columbus has impacted all Americans lives since the 1400’s when he first landed on American soil. Although it did make America into the super power it is today, the structure within the borders will never be equal because of his abuse of power back then. Christopher Columbus is not the hero American students are taught from a young age and does not deserve any of the praise or recognition that we as American citizens continue to give him on a daily basis.

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 year 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue to discover a new world. Today we celebrate the fact that he found the New World and proved that the world was not round. But should we really have a holiday to celebrate a sequence of false information, racism, and punishments?

According to the Library of Congress "the first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place on October 12, 1792," for the 300th anniversary of his arriving to America. At the 400th anniversary it was recommended by President Harrison that the United States observe the day as a holiday. Then the

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

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.

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

Every year on October 12th Americans across the country celebrate Columbus day. A day honoring the famous (or infamous) explorer Christopher Columbus , famous for supposedly discovering America (The Bahamas today). Until recently most people have celebrated the day without a second thought, but now there is more evidence that Christopher Columbus wasn’t just a peaceful explorer.