Columbus, The Indians, And Human Progress

Before and After Columbus Christopher Columbus was known to many Americans as the great explorer. He “discovered” America but as years went on the glorified Columbus was criticized and historians had found error in his ways. Does this mean Columbus was a villain and everything he stands for should be demolished? In this essay we will explore how Columbus Day is honored or observed in the United States of America and how celebrating this holiday opens up sore wounds for American Indians and how he opened the doors for transatlantic slavery, mass murders and cruelty to the Indigenous people of America. This essay will explore the apparent legacy that Columbus is celebrate and honored for, and whether or not all Americans should continue to honor Columbus Day.

Indeed, The upper Western class' gentle treatment of Columbus abuses speaks to the power of propaganda and how its invocation alone can warp the past and control the future. In the Bahamas islands where Christopher Columbus landed, he and his Spanish compatriots committed grievous wrongs. According to Howard Zinn (pg 90), Columbus' first main interest upon meeting the Native Americans was gold. Hence Columbus ordered that the Native Americans in the Bahamas retrieve a certain quota of gold for his cache. If and when some of the Native Americans did not meet Columbus gold quota, he had them dismembered.

A controversial character, Columbus vacillates between being the hero for some, by finding America, and the nemesis of others for his genocides. However, the angle of the shot, upward, as if in deference, and the thick, mystical fog, all contribute to the universal understanding that the man was a towering figure. Those who come to the park may be angered or joyous, but either way, their feelings leave them impacted by their visit. The organization that created this statue likely wanted a quiet place, a park, in which Americans could reflect upon their heritage and come to their own conclusions as to what they thought of Columbus. That makes for a good monument, one in which a person’s thoughts can settle, and he can form his true feelings.

Both had multiple casualties from malnutrition and disease and had to endure the same hardships. The difference is that the United States did this action out of greed for the Native Americans land that they own east of the Mississippi River. Ethan Davis rights in his article “An Administrative Trail of Tears: Indian Removal,” that Congressional Democrats told society that the Removal Act was "a measure of life and death. Pass the bill on your table, and you save [the Indians]. Reject it, and you leave them to perish"(11).

The Chicano Movement emerged as a response to the systemic racism and oppression by white America against latino and Mexican Americans during the twentieth century. However, to understand the movement, one must analyze the gross inequities and mistreatment that Latino Americans faced during this time in America--some of which still resonate today. These issues include a lack of rights, protections, and appreciation for migrant farm workers; segregation and discrimination in education; and the unfair treatment they faced in general in American society (Muñoz). The preponderance of such systemic oppression leads to the notion that the essence of the movement was rooted in the conflict theory. Through the conflict theory, the ideological roots of the movement can be understood.

The act only gave the president the power to negotiate relocation with southern tribes; however, when many Native Americans resisted, the government turned to much more damaging and harmful methods of expulsion (Stewart 38). The Indian Removal Act was utterly inhumane because it was the cause of thousands of deaths and destroyed the lives of the natives that survived. To begin, because of the Indian Removal Act, Native Americans suffered a loss

If Native Americans were not compliant, Americans would murder them. Although Manifest Destiny was seen as an inevitable movement among Americans and resulted in the formation of the American West in the Nineteenth century, it was truthfully an act of invasion and subjugation against peoples who had settled the land for hundreds of years earlier. Manifest Destiny led to an obvious upsurge in racial

Scout retells their story and eventually Tom’s death. In the article Lynching by Mark Twain, Mark talks about how the white population are cowards, but if a few brave men don’t participate in lynching, the rest of the population will catch on. Also in the article There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the transAtlantic slave trade. The modern commerce in human rivals illegal drug trafficking in its global reach- and in the destruction of lives by Andrew Cockburn, we can see the horror of people in Serbia selling girls into slavery. Both articles incorporate the themes in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Because Columbus had limited amounts of ships he could not take as many natives as he would have preferred and this could be an indication to why he wrote his letter the way he wrote it. Ultimately having the support of the crown worked in his favor to exploit the land and its people. Columbus’ discovery of this new land led to the Columbian Exchange where animals, plants, and humans were “products” of the New World and transported to the Old World. Another product he came across was gold something he seems to leave out of this document. The way Columbus took advantage of the native people was brutal not only by enslaving them but by colonialism which essentially is a takeover.

Racism is part of human nature and it has existed throughout human history from antiquity. The first racism cases started between black and white people. Nowadays racism has been spread all over the world despite the globalization that our contemporary civilization has undergone. But, because of the increase of emigrational waves and the intense nationalism, racism has become a big problem not only for immigrant groups but for all the world’s humans. The onus is on us to eliminate the problem of racism before it becomes even worse.

Black Legend Debate This historically bad treatment of Natives Americans, was common in many of the European colonies of the Americas and was often used as propaganda for the competing European powers to create criticism and animosity towards the Spanish Empire. From the perspective of history and the colonization of the Americas, all of the European powers that colonized the Americas, such as England, Portugal, the Netherlands and others, were guilty of the same atrocities towards the Native Americans. Colonial powers have all been accused of massacring the natives in the Americas. The type of propaganda has been employed for centuries and in every country.

1. Zinn had stated that many historians have so far heavily relied on biased views that are influenced by ideological choices on what to present and emphasize in portraying history. However Zinn is not to ‘accuse, judge, condemn Columbus’, but to question against the ‘easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress.’ In other words, Zinn is challenging the prevalent, stereotypical story telling of the American history by demoting the exaggerated heroism, and telling it from the victims and the lessor’s perspective. 2.

In the book Zinn, The author gives a point of view of Christopher Columbus that is usually not given. Most of the time the story of Christopher Columbus is told from a historian point of view. They usually tell you of his mission, and of the three ships that he takes in order to find gold and other new riches. Zinn informs us that he is not the hero that, that we all think that he is. It shows us that he tortured, abused, and overwhelmingly embarrasses the Arwark Indians.

In chapter 6 titled “The Intimately Oppressed” in A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn it describes how women were pretty much invisible during the history of the early United States. The men were the ones who owned the land, politicians, basically men were dominant during those times. In chapter 6 Zinn emphasizes the common traits between white women and slave women. Black slave women were oppressed twice as much as the white women. Zinn explains how women in the early United States started rebellions against the injustices they faced.

Lily Thomas Ms. Scott Honors US History Period 4 15 November 2016 A Demagogue in Disguise Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States, was undoubtedly an immoral demagogue who abused his position of power to promote his own selfish interests and disregard the rights of many. One of the most notable moments during his time of leadership was the “Trail of Tears”, or forced removal and relocation of all Cherokee tribes on American soil. The Indian Removal Act, passed in 1830, ultimately caused the death of 4,000+ Cherokee people (Doc 4, par. 3).