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Columbus Day And The Columbus Day

Decent Essays

Christopher Columbus is an Italian navigator who sailed west from Spain in 1492. He was in search for the Indies(India, China and Japan) through the waters due to hostile armies and long distances on land. Columbus thought he landed in the Indies when he actually landed in the Bahamas, welcomed in by the Taino(Native Americans). However, Columbus did not go there to spread Christianity, he forced the Taino into slavery, looting them,spreading deadly diseases that killed many Natives, and taking their land (causing other people to come to the Americas). However, Columbus day is celebrated by Americans thanking Columbus for finding America, but should we celebrate a man for terrorizing Native Americans? In addition, to all of this chaos, there is a huge debate going on if Confederate monuments should be allowed to stand or be taken down. These monuments come from the American Civil War, the North(Union) versus the South(Confederates). The South relied heavily on agriculture, using slaves to harvest their cotton. Some historians say that the South wanted to keep slavery, while others say that the South fought mostly for the right to decide their own affairs. Even though the North won, the South made monuments to make Confederate soldiers be portrayed as selfless heroes(no monuments have anything about pro- slavery). Columbus day should be celebrated and the Confederate monuments should stay because people cannot forget their history, people respect these things for different reasons, and people do not know the real reason to why Columbus day and Confederate monuments are really celebrated for. The Civil War and Columbus finding the Americas will always be in our history and can never be changed even if we try. Professor Leo Killsback of Arizona State University talked of how “Columbus Day is not a time of celebration but a reminder of “historic crimes” against Native Americans”; while Laura Anastasia; the author of the article “ Monumental Battle”, she gives an insight in how “We haven’t really dealt with the legacy of the Civil War and slavery”. How us, Americans supposed to learn from our mistakes and grow as a country if we take away the foundations that built the country where we live today? Columbus

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