“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, it was a courageous thing to do but someone was already here,” everyone knows that song, right? Undoubtedly you learned it sometime around second grade as a way to remember who first “discovered” America. Well now that we’re big kids, we can confront this matter head on, and upon investigation, we realize Columbus wasn’t the ‘good guy’ we thought he was. Actually, it turns out that he was quite a terrible person, but we’ll get to that. In short, I believe that Americans are not getting the full story of Christopher Columbus, and once they do, they’ll agree with me that Columbus Day should not be a holiday.
What I find blatantly ironic about this nursery rhyme-eqsue song is that it does, in fact, point
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But to begin, we must establish the fact that he didn’t actually land in America, but rather, he landed south in the Bahamas, and then found his way up to where we all assume he landed. At the time of Columbus’ travels, hundreds of other navigators were sailing around this unknown part of the world, and several had virtually the same course as Columbus, but arrived a little bit late. For example, John Cabot, an English explorer, was set out to New England in his travels, but landed in 1498, just 6 years after Columbus. What’s even more interesting is that Amerigo Vespucci (who America was ultimately named after) actually landed in Venezuela before Columbus did, and what’s more is that he made the same voyage as Columbus a few short years after in 1497. To conclude, the significance of Columbus’ voyage to America decreases significantly once you realize that there were at least two other explorers who followed the exact same path as him, and would’ve undoubtedly discovered America and the Bahamas shortly after Columbus, further proving that we should not celebrate Columbus
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.
In the United States, there are many holidays that are celebrated by its citizens. Some of these holidays consist of individuals taking the day off from work and school, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day. During these days off, individuals have the chance to reflect on the day itself, and rejoice on the purpose of the holiday. Every holiday has a distinct and positive meaning towards the United States and its people, but there is one holiday in particular that is controversial in this aspect- the celebration of Christopher Columbus- Columbus Day. This controversy is JJJJJJ because even though Christopher Columbus had a big role in discovering America, he also was a terrible human being who tortured many. In my opinion, I believe that the celebration of discovering America should continue to be celebrated. Although, the holiday should be shifted from honoring Columbus, to instead celebrating the discovery of the United States of America by the indigenous people who were already settled in our land.
Some say Columbus is a hero and should be recognized, which I believe has some valid points. The main point is that without Columbus we would not of been here with the opportunities we have today. In a video, it says how Columbus was an inspiration to struggling people. I believe that this is a very weak argument that most people bring in. If Columbus never “discovered” America, we would have saved millions of Native Americans and they would never have been placed in reservations that are hideous
When you think of Columbus what comes to mind? A hero? A villain? Most people think he is a hero, but many do not think of the things he did to people such as slavery, beatings, raping, etc. He is most known for discovering America, but he only got to the Bahamas. Columbus was an Italian explorer that sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Columbus Day should not be celebrated because of the awful things that don’t make up for the discoveries that Christopher Columbus did.
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?
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 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".
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.
America should still celebrate Columbus Day, even though he was in charge for killing thousands of innocent people he still did have the right idea and stuck with it to find new land and gold to make spain richer, himself too. He had to beg and beg for the king and queen to give him ships for along time, 1 year exactly, once he was granted it he put so much time, his whole life, to find what he didn't know was actually real or there. Even though Amerigo Vespucci found the actual land, Columbus was the one who had the right idea and gave Vespucci the idea to go searching for it. Without Columbus no one would have found it or even knew it was there. Some people think that it shouldn't be counted because he did get innocent people killed, many
Christopher Columbus is a very important person in our country's history. He found the "New World," the one we live in today. He started the society that makes us who we are today, the society that allowed our ancestors to come to America and start the life that we live now. This whole world owes their lives to him. Columbus should always be remembered as a very important and very good person in history.
When I was younger , I was taught that Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue , in 1492”. I was taught to think of a hero ; The man who discovered America. Columbus day to me was just a day off , where I didn’t have to go to school. I feel that a fair amount of Americans today think of Columbus day the same way. I think very few people actually take the time