2024 | Week of October 14 | Radio Transcript #1588
Columbus Day has been celebrated for hundreds of years in honor of Christopher Columbus, the Italian who “sailed the ocean blue” and landed in the New World on October 12, 1492. The first recorded celebration in America was in 1792. In the early 1900s, individual states began marking October 12 as a holiday and then President Franklin Roosevelt made it a federal holiday in 1937. In 1971, the federal government began observing the second Monday of every October as Columbus Day.[i]
Yet, every year since he became Wisconsin’s governor, Governor Evers has insisted on renaming the day “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” instead of recognizing Columbus. This is due to a recent liberal trend that seeks to rewrite history, portraying explorers such as Christopher Columbus as evil colonizers that committed genocide against Native Americans. Statues of Christopher Columbus were even torn down by protestors or removed by government officials after riots in the summer of 2020.[ii]
Wisconsin is not alone in this reconstruction and revision of history. In 2023, only 16 states observed the federal holiday specifically as “Columbus Day.”[iii] But what does history actually tell us about Christopher Columbus?
When Christopher Columbus landed on an island off Florida, he was not the first European to visit the “New World,” but he was the first to widely publicize its existence to the Europeans. Columbus knew the danger his first voyage faced but believed, quote, “[O]ur Lord opened to my understanding (I could sense His hand upon me) so it became clear to me that [the voyage] was feasible. . . .”
For years, Columbus was celebrated by Americans of all stripes. So what changed? As David Barton of WallBuilders points out, it’s because of Columbus’s religious motivations and convictions that many modern educators and writers attack and condemn him as they deconstruct our history.[iv]
One of Columbus’s goals was to find gold, and some critics use this as an opportunity to portray him as being greedy and self-interested; but that was not the case. He actually wanted to discover gold in order to help defend Christians around the world who were under attack from Muslim conquerors.
Plus, Columbus made sure that his crew treated the Native Americans fairly in their trading. Even if someone under Columbus’s command received just a few beads from a local native, Columbus insisted they be compensated with gold in return.
Another false narrative is that Columbus savagely exploited the Native Americans, committing and allowing atrocities like rape. Even supposedly neutral sources such as Wikipedia argue that Columbus was instrumental in actually establishing sex slavery in the Americas.[v]
The truth is that unfortunately, many of the lands that Columbus navigated to were already home to horrors including sex slavery, cannibalism, and genocide. But did Columbus condone this behavior, let alone participate in it? No reputable research supports that. In fact, instead of being an enslaver as many today believe, Columbus was actually responsible for freeing scores of slaves who were oppressed by cannibals.[vi]
Despite the modern image of Columbus’s crew warring against the Native American people at random, the truth is that many locals were inadvertently wiped out by disease, not war. While this is tragic, it certainly does not support the argument that Christopher Columbus intentionally sought mass extermination. On the contrary, he wanted to introduce the native peoples to Christ.
This week, you will likely read many false headlines or hear from newscasters, peers, or even Governor Evers that Christopher Columbus was a savage man who should not be celebrated. Unfortunately, many people indiscriminately believe what they read and hear and don’t do any research of their own.
So, this week, along with many opportunities the rest of the year, we have the responsibility to politely correct others who have been misled and point them in the direction of actual history and the truth. Our children and grandchildren in school are also likely being taught incorrect information; so this is an incredible teachable moment for families to take advantage of.
While there’s nothing wrong with recognizing America’s indigenous people, it should be in addition to Columbus Day not a replacement for Columbus Day. Christopher Columbus is one of history’s greatest navigators and explorers and deserves recognition. All men are flawed, including Columbus, but not in the way that many portray him today. Let’s do what we can to set the record straight and remind people it’s still Columbus Day.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
[i] https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-12/#:~:text=The%20first%20recorded%20celebration%20of,300th%20anniversary%20of%20Columbus’%20landing.
[ii] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christopher-columbus-statue-removed-cities/
[iii] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/05/working-on-columbus-day-or-indigenous-peoples-day-it-depends-on-where-your-job-is/
[iv] https://wallbuilders.com/resource/discovering-columbus/
[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sexual_slavery_in_the_United_States
[vi] https://lideamagazine.com/christopher-columbus-the-greatest-hero-of-the-fifteenth-sixteenth-centuries-as-revealed-by-the-primary-historical-sources-the-second-voyage-or-columbuss-underground-railroad/
