Why Was The Columbus Day

Columbus Day: A Mistake Why should this day be celebrated in the first place? Columbus Day should not be celebrated, but should be removed. Although it might be nice to have the day off of work or school, the meaning behind this holiday is completely immoral. Technically, Columbus did not even discover the Americas because the lands were already inhabited. Columbus was guilty of the genocide of many Native Americans, or “Indians”, as they were commonly known as during that time. Columbus also did not bring much additional knowledge to the Europeans when stumbling upon the Americas. These show how Columbus Day should be looked at with new eyes to see the flaws behind it. Columbus did not technically discover the Americas at all. Since the
He wanted the land to be free of the people that were thought to be inhuman. These were the Native Americans, or as they were more commonly known during this time period, the Indians. “The innocent lives of countless Americans were lost as a result of acts of violence incomprehensible to most people. Children were left without parents. Husbands were left without wives. Sisters were left without brothers.” (Kroenke) This shows how the acts of Columbus in 1492 can be compared as equal to acts of terrorism today. He slaughtered many innocent people when he was conquering the almost defenseless Native Americans, he committed many of the acts listed above. He made it so that families were no longer together because he and the people he traveled with murdered many of them. All because the natives were considered inhuman. This can easily be compared to the Holocaust because in that circumstance, the Jews were considered inhuman and in Columbus’s case, he considered the Native Americans to be inhuman and committed genocide. “This man’s voyage initiated the first invasion of America. The terrorists came from foreign lands to the east. Highly organized and with a mission supposedly given to them by their God, the subjugated, intimidated and killed our people through acts of terror and violence not much different from the terrorists of modern times.” (Kroenke) This further proves the point that the genocide committed by Columbus and his men can be compared to acts of terrorism of this time. In this case, the article was comparing Columbus’s acts to the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001. This is considered a day of mourning today, so why is there a day for a man who committed these same crimes of terrorism being celebrated with honor today? There is controversy about this day, but nothing has been done to remove the holiday for