Research Paper On Christopher Columbus Day

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.

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

Even though Columbus didn’t make a very good decision, he still helped our country because after he found this Country, Europeans started coming to the United States and they brought art, science, music, religion principles, medicine and philosophy but, he still brought murderers with him to the United States. We shouldn’t celebrate Columbus Day because of all wrong choices he

Christopher Columbus achieved remarkable success in the New World by discovering new lands and presenting an opportunity for new development. Over the course of four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, Columbus ignited the conquest and colonization of land in the New World. He recorded his experiences in journals and letters for future navigators and sailors to read and learn from. The benefits that arose from his expeditions were known as the Columbian Exchange, which included the transfer of people, resources, and culture, all of which significantly impacted society worldwide. His world changing legacy impacted the development of the territory in the New World and increased trade, resources, and economic stability for Europe.

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.

     In the essay written by Jeffrey Hart entitled, “Discovering Columbus”, he argues strongly that, in fact, Columbus did discover America. He starts off by describing Columbus as “a genuine titan, a hero of history and of the human spirit.” He goes on to say

     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 is seen as a great man who colonized the Americas but in reality he introduced three horrible acts which include slavery, genocide, and racism. Columbus was the first man to introduce slavery with native people from the Caribbeans. He encouraged his men to rape women as young as nine and forced labor which eventually led to malnutrition and disease. Columbus started transatlantic slave trade by imported numbers of Africans from Haiti to work for him which lead to depopulation. In the Americas Columbus was wiping out a whole population of native Americans so that he could claim the land for himself. This first started when Columbus hung natives in rows of thirteen “in honor of the Redeemer and His 12 apostles.” Columbus eventually ruined two generations of native Caribbeans along with his Spanish discoverers. We shouldn’t celebrate Columbus day because we’re practically being racist towards both native Caribbeans and Hatians because we’re teaching the victims that what happened to their people was perfectly fine. Columbus should not be praised with his own holiday because of his cruelty to native Caribbeans, native Hatians, and native

Indigenous: originating or occurring naturally in a particular place. In the United States, Christopher Columbus is honored as a hero who discovered this country, but he should be seen as a invader who enslaved and seized the native people. California undoubtedly made the appropriate decision to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day because how can America say Columbus discovered the United States when the Native Americans originated and inhabited the land first? The world continues to observe invaders as brave conquerors. The hidden truth is, the world honors those with fair skin as the heroes while the people with dark skin are seen and treated as less than human. Columbus Day was invented by the Knights of Columbus so their kids have a Catholic hero to look up to. Due to lobbying, Franklin Roosevelt signed Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The notion of Christopher Columbus discovering America is arrogant because Native Americans inhabited the land thousands of years before Columbus was even born. DNA evidence even suggests that the first settlers of South America were of Polynesian decent before the Vikings. On October 12th, 1492 Columbus arrived in the Bahamas which was occupied by the kind people of Lucayans, Taínos and Arawaks. In his diary, Columbus noted how friendly these people were. Seeing this as an advantage, he enslaved them to work in his gold mines. Half of the Native population died after only two years. If the Natives did not meet the working

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

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.

Even though Columbus did find his way to the Americas, it was not North America he discovered. In fact, he never stepped foot in the United States during his four expeditions. Columbus actually made landfall in various islands located in what is now known as the Bahamas, which had hundreds of thousands Native American inhabitants that had already made

Christopher Columbus is a famous explorer that is celebrated yearly in America, with his national holiday, Columbus day. However, many people do not know all the negative things he did. America should not celebrate Columbus Day because of his negative legacy, his actions, and his lack of accomplishments. Slavery, death, and rape were all part of Columbus’ negative legacy. He had negative actions such as he brought dogs to attack people, caused Native Americans to end their lives, and cut Natives hands off.

Columbus never discovered America since it was never close to empty. Evidence from source 4 is, ”this 175 million figure is roughly equal to the estimated 1492 populations of Europe, Russia and Africa put together.” Through definition, to discover is to be the first to find or observe. It is not possible to discover a place where there are thousands of people living already (source 4), especially if the location has more people than the region the individual is coming from. America was never discovered by Columbus since he already had knowledge of these new lands. Another definition of Discovery states that it is when someone finds something unexpectedly. There is discussion on the topic that states that Columbus already had knowledge of New Lands far in the West (source 4). Leading individuals to question if America was ever really discovered by Columbus. Columbus was never the first non-American to set foot on America. There is evidence on how people from all around the world had traded with America, found in books published before Columbus arrived (source 4). These are the ways in how America was not really discovered by