In 1942, there was once an explorer who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and found new land. There is also a special day named after him and it always falls on the second Monday of October, his name is Christopher Columbus. Many schools only teach what makes Christopher Columbus look good, but in reality he was a bad man. Today, I will be teaching fifth graders the real truth about the man who found the New World by telling them a story, from what the textbooks say and from what the real truth of the question, “What happened in 1942?”
To start of our story, I will be telling you how it all started. In hopes of finding new trading routes for spices, Columbus wanted to set sail and explore. It took him a couple of years to take off because he searched …show more content…
The Indians were introduced to new diseases that they were not safe from. Many died from it because their body was being attacked by bacteria and viruses they were not used to. Another thing about Columbus is that he was a violent and selfish man. When he found out there was gold in the New World, he became crazier! He ordered the Indians to give them gold so that he can bring them back to the Queen, but the Indians did not want to. Do you know what Christopher Columbus did next? According to Matthew Inman, the creator of the Columbus Day comic, Columbus “saw this as a perfect excuse to go to war, and with heavily armed troops and advanced weaponry, it [ended] up being a very short war: the [Indians] were quickly [killed], having only spears, rocks, and other simple tools to fight with” (Inman). The short war that killed many Indians was not good enough for Columbus because he did not have enough gold to give to the Queen so he made a bet with the Indians. If they gave him gold, they “would receive a token to wear around their necks. This token gave them a sort of “get out of jail free” card for a few months, so they wouldn’t be required to produce until the token expired. Any [Indian] without a token who was caught not meeting their gold [portion] was punished” (Inman). The “get out of jail free” card meant that …show more content…
(Loewen 51)
Columbus died a rich and well-known man, completely different from what the books states. So after all of this, you might be thinking, how did Columbus Day become a holiday? According to the comic, “Columbus Day was established in the 1930’s by a male-only Catholic organization known as the Knights of Columbus. They wanted a male, Catholic role model their kids could look up to, so they pressured Roosevelt into making it a federal holiday” (Inman). Making Christopher Columbus a role model for children, like you fifth graders, was a bad idea because he made bad decisions that affected many people. Textbooks have lied and said that Columbus was a brave and courageous man, but today, the truth has come out. What I want you to take away from this lesson is that the story of Christopher Columbus was changed so that people see him as a brave explorer and someone children can look up to. I want all of you to understand that we have a day to celebrate and honor him, but we should not celebrate it because he was
To start of our story, I will be telling you how it all started. In hopes of finding new trading routes for spices, Columbus wanted to set sail and explore. It took him a couple of years to take off because he searched …show more content…
The Indians were introduced to new diseases that they were not safe from. Many died from it because their body was being attacked by bacteria and viruses they were not used to. Another thing about Columbus is that he was a violent and selfish man. When he found out there was gold in the New World, he became crazier! He ordered the Indians to give them gold so that he can bring them back to the Queen, but the Indians did not want to. Do you know what Christopher Columbus did next? According to Matthew Inman, the creator of the Columbus Day comic, Columbus “saw this as a perfect excuse to go to war, and with heavily armed troops and advanced weaponry, it [ended] up being a very short war: the [Indians] were quickly [killed], having only spears, rocks, and other simple tools to fight with” (Inman). The short war that killed many Indians was not good enough for Columbus because he did not have enough gold to give to the Queen so he made a bet with the Indians. If they gave him gold, they “would receive a token to wear around their necks. This token gave them a sort of “get out of jail free” card for a few months, so they wouldn’t be required to produce until the token expired. Any [Indian] without a token who was caught not meeting their gold [portion] was punished” (Inman). The “get out of jail free” card meant that …show more content…
(Loewen 51)
Columbus died a rich and well-known man, completely different from what the books states. So after all of this, you might be thinking, how did Columbus Day become a holiday? According to the comic, “Columbus Day was established in the 1930’s by a male-only Catholic organization known as the Knights of Columbus. They wanted a male, Catholic role model their kids could look up to, so they pressured Roosevelt into making it a federal holiday” (Inman). Making Christopher Columbus a role model for children, like you fifth graders, was a bad idea because he made bad decisions that affected many people. Textbooks have lied and said that Columbus was a brave and courageous man, but today, the truth has come out. What I want you to take away from this lesson is that the story of Christopher Columbus was changed so that people see him as a brave explorer and someone children can look up to. I want all of you to understand that we have a day to celebrate and honor him, but we should not celebrate it because he was