Have you noticed not getting the day off on Columbus Day? Do you even know when Columbus Day is? In recent years, the celebration of Columbus Day has been waning for various valid reasons. Those who believe that the holiday should not exist have their reasons, whether if it’s because of his treatment towards the Native Americans or the fact that he wasn’t the true founder of America. Here are some of the following reasons of why Christopher Columbus shouldn’t be celebrated as a hero and why these reasons shouldn’t be discrediting his initial efforts.
Haters say Columbus wasn’t the first one to discover America.
It’s 
true that Columbus didn’t discover America; however, that does not discredit his efforts in sailing and navigating his three ships across the Atlantic in 1492 (History.com). For 33 days, he and his crew did not know the exact location of their whereabouts due to the lack of information at the time. With only the measurement latitude (and not longitude) and a good intuition for wind and current, he successfully led them to the other side of the world.
But Columbus saw the Natives as primitives and disregarded their way of life!
That’s actually false. “Ignoring their battle scars and horror stories, Columbus saw the Indians as an Adamic race,” (Howarth). This reveals that even though Columbus did cause some devastation along the way, it was not out of racial spite or superiority. Since he acknowledged the Natives as an “Adamic race”, he knew they were also human and therefore equal. When Columbus initially approached them, he acted in generosity and reco
rded in his letters:”I gave to all I approached whatever articles I had about me, such as cloth and many other things, taking nothing of theirs in return,” (Columbus). He was kind enough to give what he had and understood that he must maintain a good relationship with the native people.
Sources:
Howarth, William. “Putting Columbus in His Place.” Southwest Review pg 153-165. Literary Reference Center. Web. 16 Feb. 2018, <https://www.jstor.org/stable/43470348?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>
History.com Staff. “Columbus Day.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, <www.history.com/topics/exploration/columbus-day>
Columbus, Christopher. “Discovery of the New World.” Discovery of the New World, 8/1/2017, p. 1. Web. 16 Feb 2018. <http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=1fb990e4-9a06-4f0c-a9f41a02a9024a18%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=21212410&db=a9h>