American History Essay Example

History of USA

It is ironical for historians to record that Columbus ‘discovered’ America; yet he found people living in the land. Christopher Columbus, born in 1451, should only take credit for creating the first association between America and Europe (Almasy n.d). However, Franklin Roosevelt, an American president, thought the explorer made a remarkable discovery, thus declared 12th October Columbus Day in 1937. Subsequently, President Nixon together with his advisors made the day a federal holiday in 1971 (Almasy n.d). If such prominent and influential individuals decided to honor Christopher Columbus, Americans should continue with the tradition and celebrate him as the successful failure in history.

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Almasy’s (2004) article claims that Christopher Columbus was only a courageous explorer from Europe who accidentally ‘discovered’ America. After looking for sponsors for his voyage and failed twice, the explorer was successful in his third attempt that led to him discovering the Caribbean Islands by chance. Likewise, the second article by Churchill (2001) supports the idea that Columbus only revealed a ‘New World’ to Europeans. The ‘acclaimed navigator’ only stumbled on the ‘Espanola’ beach, which he thought was the Garden of Eden. The last article by Barbanel (2012) successively thinks the notion that Columbus discovered the Western Hemisphere is a fallacy. He was only daring like Neil Armstrong, who was the first to step on the moon. A point of contention is the author’s claim that the navigator blends into the Italian heritage.

In contrast, Almasy’s (2004) blames Columbus for the death of more than one hundred thousand Native Americans; they died because of disease caused by European settlers. Correspondingly, the second article’s author claims that he saw the revelation as an opportunity and started the transatlantic slave trade. Subsequently, he introduced the forced labor system (‘encomiendo’) for the Indians: only death could rescue them. He enforced the practice through killing the rebels to create. Or more precisely, Columbus killed to show he was the boss, for religious reasons and as a sport. Finally, the third author claims that the explorer’s ‘discovery’ was only profitable for the White Europeans plus their progeny. Conversely, the Columbus’ reign was encompassed with dispossession, brutal killings, disease, and ethnic cleansing. For example, millions of Blacks were taken from Africa and enslaved.

The articles depict a false hero created by the ancestors of America. The character did the Native Americans more harm than good. Therefore, naming Ohio’s state capital after an oppressor is irresponsible and inhuman. Those whose forefathers suffered at his hands will always remember the atrocities whenever they hear the name. Speaking about this, Native Americans and Indians deserve a day off work in October instead of Christopher Columbus. It is ironical to award a lazy oppressor: the explorer used to rest while others worked for him.

A person cannot do great things if he is not a nice fellow. The people should give power to leaders as gifts; administrative positions should not guarantee control. Columbus was a bully backed by the fact that he lacked informal power, which is given by subjects because of personal attributes. People may be victims of the times they live in to a certain extent; for example, Native Americans had an option of accepting or revolting against a foreign ruler from Europe. With the present knowledge, Americans will be self-sufficient rather than committing to an incompetent leader if they went back to 1492. Above all, Columbus is given too much credit for causing more harm than good to Native Americans; he did not leave America better than he found it. The numbers participating in the protests will keep increasing until the day when Columbus Day will become “Explorer’s Day.”

Works Cited

Almasy, Steve. “Columbus: Intrepid Explorer or Accidental Navigator?” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 Aug. 2004, www. edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/08/02/columbus/index.html?iref=newssearch. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Barbanel, Howard. “Goodbye Columbus? Celebrating Old Christopher Falling Out of Favor.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Oct. 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-barbanel/columbus-day-2012_b_1946472.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Churchill, Ward. “Columbus Day Commemorates a Holocaust.” Progressive.org, Norman Stockwell , 2 Oct. 2001, www. progressive.org/op-eds/columbus-day-commemorates-holocaust/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.