Christopher Columbus : The Bad Impacts Of The Columbus Day In America

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.

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.

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

Columbus noticed that some of these Indians had little golden ornaments in their noses and ears, This made him take some of the Arawak Indians that they help prisoner onto the ship and insisted they guide him to where they were the source of the gold was, this had lead him to sail to what is now Cuba then to Hispaniola.# There bits of gold were visible in the rivers. Columbus and his crew built a fort and left thirty-nine crew members there to collect gold and store all they would find.

All across the United States, students learn that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and “discovered” North America. This common misconception creates a false narrative for Americans learning about Christopher Columbus’ legacy - and indeed about the country’s early post-European history. When Christopher Columbus came ashore, North America was already inhabited by hundreds of thousands of native peoples so the concept of Christopher Columbus somehow “discovering” what is now the United States of America is inaccurate. He did, however, set off a process of conquering the land and its people for the Western World. He did so through brutal tactics including forced labor, enslavement, violence, and widespread killing.

We celebrate Columbus Day every year since 1937. He traveled from Spain to North America trying to find the Northwest passage on August 3rd, 1492. He failed to find the passage ,but instead he found new land. People think as him as a hero ,but most people haveńt heard of the things he had done. People now of today are still debating whether or not if he should have a holiday. Celebrating Columbus Day shouldn't happen. He did horrible things to the natives, children, and countless other people. He shouldn’t have a holiday as it will be shown multiple times and again.

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, these words are taught all around the states and are meant to help teach and remember the year that the now notorious Christopher Columbus went on his renowned exploration. Columbus was an Italian that was sent by the Queen and King of Spain to find riches in other lands, and during this voyage he stumbled onto the Americas. During his time in the Americas he enslaved the Native Americans, forced Christianity onto them and brought over diseases that would result in the eventual deaths of Native American. For a long period of time though, Columbus was known as the “man who discovered America”, nothing more. Now he is thought of as a murderer and a thief for stealing the land and lives of many Native Americans.

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

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

Columbus in the New world. America should not continue to celebrate Columbus Day because it brought destruction to Native Americans, provokes and discriminates Native Americans and Columbus never really discovered the Americas. It brought destruction to Native Americans by destroying them completely in the Caribbeans after two decades, punishing them in terrible ways and bringing slavery to them. It hurts Native Americans today through culture, racism and emotionally. And Columbus never really discovered the New Lands since America was not close to empty, he already had knowledge of “New Lands” and he was possibly wasn’t even the first non-american to reach the

Columbus Day should be a day of remembrance for the Native American people, instead of a day of celebration for the historical beginning of America. The Europeans came to America and claimed that they discovered the land. But the truth was that there were Native American people living in America way before the Europeans arrived. The Europeans oppressed the Native Americans.

For instance, he left behind a legacy of slavery. Christopher Columbus used forced labor to make people to do his tasks (source 4). This led him to start to human trafficking. Columbus would personally embolden “his men to rape Native women as young as nine or ten” (source 4). As a result, Columbus’ legacy left international slave trade as a growing problem in today’s world. America should not celebrate Columbus Day when he treated women and men so dishonorably against their wishes. Another influence is that Columbus left behind stereotyping. Columbus called Native American Indians. Columbus would grouped minorities and call them whatever he wanted, just like he did to the Native Americans. Now People refer to Native American as Indians. This creating a stereotype of Natives. We should not celebrate Columbus Day when he caused arrogance and is to blame for the bereave of Native Americans respect. Finally, the last way he negatively influenced today’s world is genocide. Columbus and the people who followed him killed so many people. Columbus motives during his voyages was to convert people to the Catholic faith. No wanted to be converted, so Columbus and his men hung the people up in rows of 13. This killing two generations (source 1). America should not celebrate Columbus day when he caused more pain than good. Not only should Columbus Day be taboo since because of the way he

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.

As time has passed, people’s morality have changed. Someone who blames Columbus for the slavery or murder of natives is uninformed on the standards of the time. At the time, these were acceptable and honorable. According to historian Virginia McConnell Simmons, slave trading was a common practice among the Ute Native American tribes which fueled the economy. Evidently, Columbus didn’t bring slavery into the Americas, nor did he commit anything out of the norm. Arguing that Columbus was a bad man because he sold some of the natives into slavery has no effect as to whether he should be celebrated. These charges do not afflict Columbus at all, or stand in the way of his achievements. Many opposers of Columbus blame him for abrading the natives rights. To say this is to completely disregard how the US government treated the natives so many times at the beginning of our settlement. For example, removing the Cherokees from georgia, where they had always lived was a big deal. The georgian government was selfish and wanted the territory for its natural resources, so they forced the natives westward. Americans don’t hate the georgians for what happened in 1838, they understand that it was acceptable at the time, and the georgians were trying to gain wealth. If we forgive the Georgian government and President Jackson for this ordeal, then why can’t we forgive Columbus for the same reasons? Clearly, Columbus did nothing wrong for his time period, and shouldn’t be accused with modern day

Despite the fact Columbus day should not be celebrated, a lot could be said for his bravery: daring to succeed in the face of grave danger in the form of conquering the fear for the unknown while charting unknown waters. Columbus pioneered new sailing and navigating techniques, which allowed the Europeans to travel further and more safely than ever before. He brought plants and animals from the Americas back to Europe, providing his people with a greater array of resources that helped his home country become more diverse. Even though he brought new ideas and goods to both the Americas and Europe, the consequences of these trips were detrimental to both Columbus and the people who inhabited these lands. The destruction of the territory and the diseases that were brought over, foreign to the natives, resulted in the demise of the Native American population over time while the Europeans turned a blind eye. These actions turned Christopher Columbus from a honorable, audacious explorer that catalyzed a mass genocide of innocent, unsuspecting natives.