A Nation Emerges Honors
Name _____________________
Columbus: Hero or Villain?
DBQ
(Document Based Question)
Introduction: So, did Christopher Columbus discover America?
In a way, yes. While Leif Ericson undoubtedly reached what is
today Newfoundland nearly 500 years before Columbus set sail
in 1492, Columbus most likely did not know the land existed.
More importantly, Columbus' “discovery” established permanent
contact between Europe and the Americas, forever changing life
for people in both world regions. More debatable, however, is
whether or not Columbus' achievements should be celebrated as
heroic. We have two days on our calendar that the federal
government recognizes as holidays in honor of one specific
person: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Columbus Day. Are
Columbus' actions worthy of such recognition?
Topic Focus Question: Should Columbus Day be abolished as a national holiday?
Process: Use the documents in the DBQ packet to complete the Document Analysis sheet on
the back side of this paper. Then draw your own conclusions in a one-paragraph response to
the question above. Be sure to refer to specific documents (you can cite them by number)
that have shaped your opinion.
Documents: The following excerpts come from diverse sources and have been edited for the
purpose of this activity. (Helpful Hint: Identify specific words that display point of view of
the author.)
Document # Describe the document. What can you
tell about its source?
How does this document view Columbus' place
in American history? How do you know?
Document 1
This extraordinary man, who was now about twenty-seven years of age, appears to have
united in his character every trait, and to have possessed every tallant, requisite to form and
execute the greatest enterprizes. He was early educated in all the useful sciences that were
taught in that day. He had made great proficiency in geography, astronomy and drawing, as
they were necessary to his favourite pursuit of navigation. He had now been a number of
years in the service of the Portuguese, and had acquired all the experience that their voyages
and discoveries could afford. His courage and perseverance had been put to the severest test,
and the exercise of every amiable and heroic virtue rendered him universally known and
respected.
Such was the situation of Columbus, when he formed and thoroughly digested a plan, which,
in its operation and consequences, unfolded to the view of mankind one half of the globe,
diffused wealth and dignity over the other, and extended commerce and civilization through
the whole.
Source: Joel Barlow, The Vision of Columbus
(Epic poem published in 1787)
Document 2
The “Columbus Day” holiday is the only national holiday that is overtly insulting to millions
of Americans. It is now universally understood that Christopher Columbus did not “discover”
the American continent. That concept is a “Euro-centric” one that is deeply insulting to
American Indians and many native-born Americans of all cultures. It is also historically
incorrect. American Indian people have been on this continent at least 10,000 years, and
scientists have proven that numerous other explorers had arrived on this continent from other
parts of the world long before Columbus. It is also now known that many of the things we
once believed about Christopher Columbus were myths, and that much of what we did not
know about him would seriously tarnish his image, to say the least. This petition, however,
is not meant to be an attack on Christopher Columbus, but rather an appeal for a holiday that
is not insulting to any American.
American national holidays should be days that bring a sense pride and togetherness for ALL
Americans, and stem from an “American perspective.” “Columbus Day” fails that test on all
counts. “First Americans Day” would be a holiday that would be meaningful to each and
every American. It would be a holiday that would be from an “American perspective” rather
from an “Euro-centric” one. And, finally it would be a holiday that would instill pride in us
as a collective group of people, while still recognizing and honoring our differences. The
concept is one that is a “win-win” for all Americans regardless of their heritage.
Source: Online Petition to “Abolish Columbus Day and Rename it.”
Document 3
Timeline of Columbus Day:
1792 a ceremony organized by the Society of St. Tammany, or Colombian Order, was held in
New York City honoring Columbus and the 300th anniversary of the landing.
Oct. 12 1866 out of the pride for their native son, the Italian population of New York
organized the first celebration of the discovery of America.
1869 when Italians in San Francisco celebrated Oct. 12 they called it Columbus Day.
1892 President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the 400th anniversary of the event.
1905 Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day.
Since 1920 the day has been celebrated annually.
1937 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every Oct. 12 as Columbus Day.
1968 President Johnson declared it a federal public holiday on the 2nd Mon. in Oct.
Document 4
The association between Columbus and America took root in the imagination" in the
eighteenth century. "People had even more reason to think of themselves in distinctive
American terms." (Noble, 250) Americans, searching for a history and a hero, discovered
Columbus….
It is not hard to understand the appeal of Columbus as a totem for the new republic and the
former subjects of George III. Columbus had found the way of escape from Old World
tyranny. He was the solitary individual who challenged the unknown sea, as triumphant
Americans contemplated the dangers and promise of their own wilderness frontier...as a
consequence of his vision and audacity, there was now a land free from kings, a vast
continent for new beginnings. In Columbus the new nation without its own history and
mythology found a hero from the distant past, one seemingly free of any taint from
association with European colonial powers. The Columbus symbolism gave America an
instant mythology and a unique place in history, and their adoption of Columbus magnified
his own place in history.
Source: John Noble Wilford, Mysterious History of Columbus
Book published in 1991
Document 5
The Columbus Doors at the east entrance of the
U.S. Capitol Rotunda are an imposing welcome to
the heart of the gallery of national myths. Standing
nearly 17 feet tall, and weighing 20,000 pounds,
Randolph Roger's alto-relief bronze doors make a
powerful statement about not only their subject,
Christopher Columbus, but the importance of
Columbus to the national consciousness.
Document 6
When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508, [Spanish priest Bartolomeo] Las Casas says, "there
were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to
1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who
in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable
eyewitness can hardly believe it...."
Thus began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian
settlements in the Americas. That beginning, when you read Las Casas-even if his
figures are exaggerations (were there 3 million Indians to begin with, as he says, or
less than a million, as some historians have calculated, or 8 million as others now
believe?) is conquest, slavery, death. When we read the history books given to
children in the United States, it all starts with heroic adventure-there is no
bloodshed-and Columbus Day is a celebration.
Source: Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States
History textbook published in 1980
Document 7
The Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn portrays the Age of Discovery.
Commissioned by Congress the work hangs in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
opposite those painted by John Trumball.
Document 8
This gallery [of heroes] was not in place at the birth of the political nation. America, as a
young republic, found itself immediately in the middle of an identity crisis. Having effected a
violent separation from England and its cultural and political icons, America was left without
history--or heroes. Michael Kammen, in his Mystic Chords of Memory explains that
"repudiation of the past left Americans of the young republic without a firm foundation on
which to base a shared sense of their social selves." (65) A new national story was needed, . .
. The human need to explain origins, to create self-identity through national identity, was
thwarted …. A vacuum was created, and was slowly filled with the image of Christopher
Columbus.
Columbus was a perfect icon for the confusing days of the early nineteenth century, cutting
across social, political, and regional boundaries, providing a kind of superficial unity for the
American national identity, a decontextualized and increasingly monodimensional hero,
created in the image of the age.
Source: Online source of Columbus in History