History 1301 Research Paper

     Conversely, James W. Loewen, who did extensive research of high school history lessons to write his book Lies my Teacher Told Me, feels Columbus wasn’t really as great as he is made out to be. Loewen writes, “The history books make up all kinds of details to tell a better story and to humanize Columbus so that readers will identify with him” (38). Just as Hart pushes the idea that Columbus made a great new discovery finding the Americas, Loewen argues that “Columbus’s voyage was not the first, but the last discovery” (39). His importance has to do with the changes that were made in Europe and not having “discovered new land”. People from other continents had gone to America long before 1492. “Daring sailors reached America in a series of voyages across the North Atlantic, establishing communities on the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland. The Norse colony on Greenland lasted five hundred years (982-c.1500)”. Loewen further goes on to argue against Hart on the issue of the Turks and their supposed land route control and describes the claims as a “falsehood”. Loewen also points out the several times Christianity is used as an excuse

Thomas King’s chapter “Forget Columbus” surrounds the idea that the preconceived notions that Americans have about their own history, and the Native Americans who have resided here for centuries, are wrong. Columbus never discovered America. The

School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power.

The arrival of Columbus in 1492 has been viewed with mixed feelings with others believing the day should be viewed as an occasion for mourning. Some activists advocate for the day to be replaced with a day for ethnic diversity. The belief that he discovered America is not to say that he was the first to set his eyes on America, it meant that he opened up America to new opportunities. This was by bringing America to the attention of the New World by bringing the civilization of Western Europe to its residents. It was the discoveries of Columbus that led to an interaction of ideas and people and different cultures that made America what it is today.

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” One of the first things we learned in primary school was that Christopher Columbus discovered America. But they also made us read Christopher 's Journals (1493) such as “ They ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks ' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” where he described how they met the “Taino indigenous peoples of Hispaniola.” However we as students never questioned how is that Columbus “discovered” America while in his journals (1493) he states that he encountered with peoples that lived there before he arrived , even though it wasn 't really America. Discover is define as “ to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time.” There are many evidences that validates that Columbus did not discover America;One, is the inaccuracy in his studies, they believed and studied that Earth was flat and smaller than it actually was, while “

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 is immortalize as a brave and virtuous explorer who discovered the New World. While his image is painted in such a positive regard, what was written in these school textbooks were far from truthful.

My final thoughts towards English 1301 would probably be described in one word which would be awesome; from what I learned in class will help me out towards my path to the future I understand that I still have some errors as I write essays or journals; but I will like to believe that I will get better as I stay in English and I work more on my dents that I have.

The United States of America is a declining global power related to the never-ending war, lack of political cohesion and the greed of Americans to self-indulge rather than attempt to make the U.S. a better place as a whole. The U.S. showed its vulnerability when New York City was attacked, the twin towers destroyed and thousands of innocent lives were lost, an event forever known as 911. How could such an event like this happen to the so-called superpower known as the United States of America? As stated on page 2 of the readings, the defense department was not defending their own borders. They were too busy defending other countries. While it is important as a superpower to help others in need, a government should first have all matters

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” One of the first things we learned in primary school was that Christopher Columbus discovered America, they also made us read Christopher 's Journals (1493) such as: “ They … brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks ' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... . They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane... . They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” Here he was describing what he encountered with the “Taino indigenous peoples of Hispaniola.” However, we as students never questioned how is it Columbus “discovered” America. In his journals (1493) he states that he encountered people that lived there before he arrived, even though it wasn 't really America. The word discover is defined as “ to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time.” There is evidence that validate Columbus did not discover America. One evidence that validates Columbus did not discover America is the inaccuracy in his studies. Columbus and his cohorts believed and

Children are often only taught that Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and discovered America. Though, only part of this is true, they aren’t taught about the awful man that Columbus was and the fact that he did not discover America. History should judge Columbus’ actions as they were. He was a cruel treasure seeker who focused only on enriching himself and would do anything to enrich and please the King and Queen.

Schools in the United States teach students that Christopher Columbus discovered America. Christopher Columbus is glorified by history books and is celebrated in holiday called Columbus Day. The federal holiday gives students a day off to honor Christopher Columbus and his heroic achievement of discovery. However, the horrible truth is that he is not a hero and a great explorer he is portrayed to be. Christopher Columbus should not be considered a hero because he invaded America, killed many Native Americans and was a greedy person.

America’s history is filled with heroes and icons that built a foundation for and play a part in what America is today. As a country we praise these icons to show how proud we are to be a part of such a complex and intelligent society. However, we bury the facts of how America was found in order to not destroy that perfectly created image of the perfectly created country. As a child on Columbus Day, all we hear is “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue”, and we get a day off from school, which is sufficient for children in elementary and middle school. Columbus’ actions after he gets off his boat are what lead people to believe that Columbus should not be held on the pedestal he is on. Christopher Columbus and his men raped, enslaved, and killed about three million natives from

British history from 1600 to 1650 wasn’t the best time of history for british people. Britain had a society from 1600 to 1650. From 1600 to 1650 Britain’s government had kings, queens, laws and punishments for outlaws. Britain also had wars religiously, politically and militarily during that time too.

Most history textbooks take Christopher Columbus and put him on a pedestal. These textbooks make Columbus the fantastic hero who was the first person to discover the Americas. These textbooks were wrong in idolizing Columbus. One text called The Lies my Teacher Told Me contradicts these textbooks. The text states that there were already many different groups of people that landed in, explored, or colonized the Americas. The first group of people was the ancestors to the Native Americans that were living there when Columbus came in 1492. Also the Norse established a colony in Greenland for 500 years (Loewen, 8). While there, the Norse explored parts of North America (Loewen, 8). This evidence proves that Columbus was not the first person to discover the Americas. Columbus began the demise of the current Indian cultures in the area. While Christopher Columbus and the