Does Columbus deserve a holiday or not.

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Columbus Does Not Merit a National Holiday
Although the poll reveals that most of the U.S. citizens believe that Columbus deserves a holiday, one would similarly argue that Columbus Day is unnecessary because Columbus enslaved and killed several Native Americans during his time. Students are always taught to believe the myth about Christopher Columbus that he was the man who discovered America and was the first explorer to land on its shores (Wineburg et al. 52). Revelations of truth about the discovery America, however, suggest that Columbus is hardly an individual worth celebrating. The fact is that even before the marked arrival of Columbus in America, there were people (Native Americans), who were already living in the region (Desai 182). Columbus’ primary aim in his voyage was to find trade routes to Indies. So, the whole story of American discovery is just a myth.
Furthermore, there is no concrete reason to celebrate the person who subjected America to European colonization. Schlereth notes that between 1492 and 1502, Columbus made over four expeditions to the Americas, enabling the Europeans to explore and colonize the Americas effectively (Schlereth 942). In Schlereth’s perspective, this ultimately prompted the onset of the Columbian Exchange. The misery that followed the European colonization of Americas further drives away the desire to celebrate the Columbus Day. The land grabbing, diseases, deaths, enslavement, and the subjugation of the indigenous Americans.

All these are not worth rejoicing. In fact, in the elite revisionists’ perspective, Christopher Columbus deserves condemnation, not a national holiday (Schuman, Barry, & Hannah 12). A condemnation for enslaving, bringing diseases, and killing America’s indigenous peoples.
Wineburg et al. state that Christopher Columbus hardly stopped at spreading beliefs and enslavement, he ensured that his dominance prevailed by exploiting Native Americans plus resources of the new land, America (Wineburg et al. 54). In addition to Brooks and Virginia University writings, there are several other stories, diaries, and writings that provide detailed accounts of Columbus killing indigenous peoples and murdering entire villages’ populations (Brooks & Virginia University 23). According to Rogers, Columbus would leave the lifeless bodies in the attacked villages, to ensure the public did not even think of rebelling or showing anger against him. Rogers details that Columbus and his crew used to cut off heads of natives who had survived previous attacks to ensure their job was complete (p.40). The author also depicts that Columbus and his crew used to chop off the hands of Native Americans, tied them around their necks, and sent them back to their hamlets (Rogers 40). Sincerely, this is not a man worth celebrating. The myth that Christopher Columbus was a man with humble origins is untrue because he had no respect for humanity.
Christopher Deserves a Holiday
Year in year out, children in America are receiving teachings about historical achievements Christopher Columbus. He is viewed as an unquestionable hero, but this is mythical. His story about the Ocean blue sailing features in nearly every history textbook on American history (Grant & Bob 40). Therefore, on the positive side, achievements of Christopher Columbus were tremendous. He deserves a holiday.
For several years, the humans did not have any clue about the shape of the earth and what existed on the sides of it. Christopher Columbus is said to have been the man behind the discovery of the shape of the earth (Desai 192). Through his periodic adventures, Columbus discovered that the earth is spherical. Celebrating Columbus Day reminds Americans of the rejoining of the peoples from two different halves of the planet; an activity which kicked off on 12th October 1492. Columbus deserves credit for courage and determination in carrying out the daring expeditions that led reconnection of humanity in different parts of the earth.

Works Cited
Brooks, Elbridge S., and Virginia University. The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral. Generic NL, 1998.
Desai, Christina. “The Columbus Myth: Power and Ideology in Picturebooks about Christopher Columbus.” Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 45, no. 3, Sept. 2014, pp. 179-196. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1007/s10583-014-9216-0.
Feile Tomes, Maya. “News of a Hitherto Unknown Neo-Latin Columbus Epic, Part II. José Manuel Peramás’s De Inventor Novo Orbe Inductoque Illuc Christi Sacrificio (1777).” International Journal of the Classical Tradition, vol. 22, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 223-257. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s12138-015-0374-2.
Grant, Robert, and Bob Grant. Let’s be Heard. Simon and Schuster, 1997.
Rogers, Claudia. “Christopher Who?” History Today, vol. 67, no. 8, Aug. 2017, pp. 38-49.
Schlereth, Thomas J. “Columbia, Columbus, and Columbianism.” The Journal of American History 79.3 (1992): 937-968.
Schuman, Howard, Barry Schwartz, and Hannah D’Arcy. “Elite revisionists and popular beliefs: Christopher Columbus, hero or villain?” Public Opinion Quarterly 69.1 (2005): 2-29.
Wineburg, Samuel S, Daisy Martin, and Chauncey Monte-Sano. Reading Like a Historian: Teaching Literacy in Middle and High School History Classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 2011.