Columbus Day in USA

Columbus Day is celebrated by the people across the USA. It is generally believed the history of USA might have a different course if Christopher Columbus had not discovered the land of America. You would be surprised to know that first celebration of discovery of America was made by Italian population living in New York way back on October 12, 1866. But Colorado was first state to celebrate Columbus Day in 1905. It was President Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 who declared October 12 as Columbus Day but it started off to celebrate on second Monday of October only from 1971.

It is sad that Columbus Day has not got much respect and attention though being a national holiday. It has roped in many controversies as it is said that European settlement led to the destruction of America’s history and culture of indigenous people. Large number of natives had died because of the advent of the European settlement. Columbus was not American rather an Italian who was a leader of the Spanish conquest of the New World and moreover he did not discover the present place of United States. It has been debated that he set his first foot on some Caribbean Islands and never reached the mainland.

But we cannot negate the significance of his landing of 1492. Though he could not discover the main land yet he discovered America to be exploited by Europeans and this had made all the difference that led United States to become the super power.