The Founder of the United States, Who Never Set Foot in North America

How did a man become so ingrained in American culture and history, but never step foot in North America? Christopher Columbus was that man. He became apart of American history, known as the explorer who found the 'new world.' His fame and notoriety came from his four voyages across the Atlantic to the Americas. While he was an explorer who discovered land never before chartered by a European, the United States often credits Columbus with a lot more then he deserves.


First off, Christopher Columbus never actually set foot on the present-day United States. During his four separate voyages, that began in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands: the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. He also explored Central and South American coasts. “But he didn’t reach North America, which, of course, was already inhabited by Native Americans, and he never thought he had found a new continent.” Colombus and his soldiers had gold fever and were determined to find it and bring it back to Europe. “Gold fever drove colonizing ventures, organized at first in the pursuit of the metal in its raw form.” (43) After each voyage, Columbus would return to England with gold. Which is contrary to the American perception of Columbus, who is seen as an explorer determined to find new virgin land. Columbus was also seen by Americans as an ally to Natives, forging a connection with them and building trust. This, however, was not the case. Bartolome de Las Casas, a priest who lived on a island that Columbus arrived on, said this about Columbus’s relation with the Indigenous inhabitants, “They forced their way into settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old the men, pregnant women, and even women who have just given birth.” In fact, Columbus came back to Europe after each voyage with hundreds of Indigenous slaves plucked from their homes.


But, the United States looked past the bad, because they needed a rebellious and brave American icon, who was not British, Columbus fit the bill. And thus the 'finder' of the United States was established. “The first Columbus Day celebration recorded in the United States was in New York on October 12th, 1792, held to honor Italian-American heritage.” From that point onward he was written into textbooks and history as the first settler of the United States, the one who found the ‘new world.’ Our capital was named after him, along with the prestigious ivy college, Colombia University. And more than “ 50 cities, towns, and counties bare his name today.” "The 1798 hymn 'Hail, Columbia' was the early national anthem and is now used whenever the vice president of the United States makes a public appearance.” (4) And the U.S even has a federal holiday dedicated to him. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 proclaimed October 12th to be Columbus Day. In 1971, the holiday date was changed to the second Monday in October.


There is a growing movement around the country, to alter the purpose of Columbus Day, and rather make it a day about the Indigenous Peoples of America. This day would allow Americans to reflect on Native American history. Around the country cities like Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Nashville have made the second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples Day. You can see if your city or state, has made the switch.

Along with that, I suggest people should research explorers who actually landed on North America like “Norse explorer Leif Erikson who reached Canada 500 years before Columbus was born.” Or explores like Alonso Alvarez de Pineda (1519), who explored present-day Texas, Ponce de Leon (1513), who explored present-day Flordia, and Giovanni da Verrazzano (1524), who explored present-day New York. All of whom landed on North America within decades of Colombus’s voyages.




Citations:


Flint, Valerie I.J. "Christopher Columbus." Encyclopædia Britannica. January 03, 2019. Accessed April 04, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christopher-Columbus.


Strauss, Valerie. "Christopher Columbus: 3 Things You Think He Did That He Didn't." The Washington Post. October 14, 2013. Accessed April 04, 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/14/christopher-columbus-3-things-you-think-he-did-that-he-didnt/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.da61658074fc.


Vox. YouTube. October 08, 2018. Accessed April 04, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNqOGhDMm8k.