For many American communities, Columbus Day is a day for celebration as well as for division. Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day are two current topics of controversy that frequently set one against the other.
However, Columbus Day’s American roots—it was declared a federal holiday in 1937—show us that the modern celebration is more closely linked to the mistreatment of Catholic Americans, particularly the Italian immigrants who faced widespread discrimination and violence in the late 19th century, than it is to Christopher Columbus and his expeditions to the Caribbean.
Telling the American story
Christopher Columbus traveled to the Western Hemisphere 284 years before the Declaration of Independence was ratified, and he never set foot on American soil. So why is Columbus’ voyage a part of the narrative of America? Our country’s foundation holds the key to the solution.
The continents were frequently represented as allegorical figures in maps and European art during the 15th and 16th centuries; these representations occasionally took the form of goddess-like women. After Europeans realized there were more land masses in the world than just the continents, North America was given a figure at the end of the 17th century that became known as “Columbia.” By the 18th century, both Europeans and Americans used Columbia’s image to represent the new United States, which had just fought and won its freedom from the British monarchy.
Following George Washington’s death in 1799 and the passage of the Constitution in 1787, early Americans started to gather information about their fledgling country. These Americans, eager to break away from England, found several things about Columbus appealing: he was a common man at birth, he sailed for Portugal and Spain instead of the English crown, and his success was a result of his wisdom and leadership.
The political elites of the eighteenth century in America were nearly all White Protestant men, thus this condensed version of Columbus’s life story was appropriate for their requirements. However, Phillis Wheatley, an African American poet who was enslaved, was a woman who contributed to the creation of early American emblems. Columbia is portrayed in her well read poetry “His Excellency General Washington” as Washington’s advisor during the Revolutionary War.
In the end, Columbia—a national symbol already—became synonymous with the historical figure Columbus, becoming a new patriotic emblem equal to the bald eagle and the American flag. Columbus thus came to serve as the foundation for the fledgling country’s recorded history. Even now, we begin with this history. In case you attended an American public school, it’s likely that you were taught the straightforward rhyme, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
Newcomers enter the United States.
So how do Italian Americans end up organizing Columbus Day parties? There was a major change in the American use of the Columbus myth and symbol one hundred years after the country’s inception.
Italy was becoming a nation in the middle of the 19th century, while the United States was engaged in a Civil War. Known as the Risorgimento, or Italian unification, this historical period played a significant role in the vast emigration of Italians to countries around the globe, including the United States.
America changed from an agrarian nation to an industrial superpower at the beginning of the 1880s. Large volumes of labor were required, and businesses were willing to offer low pay. In search of opportunity and a better life, immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, especially Italians, came into the nation at the same time. The 19th century emigrants, like many immigrants now, were fleeing nations plagued by political instability, subpar living conditions, violence, and other issues.
Because they were prejudiced and afraid of change, some Americans found the abrupt population shift offensive. In contrast to earlier waves of immigrants from Northern and Western Europe, many white, Protestant Americans found the traditions, languages, and religions of Southern and Eastern Europeans to be too alien. Some others thought that these newcomers would not fit in with the country. In many places, discrimination gave rise to hatred, particularly toward Italian immigrants from Sicily and southern Italy. They were frequently characterized as “swarthy,” “dumb,” and “criminals,” and they were demonized in American media, newspaper articles, and cartoons.
The governments of Italy and the United States both took notice of one unfortunate event. David Hennessey, the head of the New Orleans police, was killed on October 16, 1890. He supposedly used a derogatory term for Italians to characterize his attackers while he was dying. As a result, a large number of Italian immigrants were placed under custody, and 19 men—among them as young as 14—were charged with the crime. They were, however, found not guilty in court.
On March 14, 1891, a mob stormed the prison to exact revenge for Hennessey’s death after becoming furious over the lack of a guilty verdict and encouragement from the local press. They brutally murdered eleven Italian men in a lynching. Following the incident, Italy severed diplomatic ties with the US, and US officials hurried to counter the derogatory portrayals of Italian immigrants that had provoked the violence.
The making of an “Italian” hero
A year later, to honor the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ landing, the United States launched “Discoverer’s Day,” a widely publicized national holiday. Public school students took part in patriotic marches, churches and synagogues staged ceremonies, and newspapers publicized his stories in full-page spreads across the country. American icons like as flags, Uncle Sam, and red, white, and blue bunting were present at the protests.
Political figures emphasized again how much of a role model Columbus was. U.S. Congressman Benjamin Franklin Meyers wrote in The Patriot-News, “If Christopher Columbus had been an American, native, and to the manner born, his career could not have illustrated more singularly the character of a self-made man risen to greatness and honors…his entire life is a lesson that the youth of our country may study with profit.” Columbus was recognized as an immigrant, a Catholic, and possibly an American for the first time.
Meyers made this statement at a time when the percentage of foreign-born people in America had increased to 15%, echoing the sentiments expressed by other leaders around the nation. The audience was presented with Columbus as more than just a historical figure. He was born abroad and became an American hero. Columbus provided a means for Italian immigrants and Italian Americans to be included in the narrative of the United States.
Important to remember is that 1892 was also an election year. President Benjamin Harrison realized he might win the election with the support of the increasing American Catholic voting bloc, which included Italian, Irish, and German Americans. Harrison might be more likely to win their support if he backed a “American historical figure” of Catholic ancestry. But it was a gamble that proved to be unsuccessful. Grover B. Cleveland won because James B. Weaver, a populist and candidate for the Third Party, split the vote.
Since then, a lot of Italian Americans have celebrated “Columbus Day,” even though “Discoverer’s Day” was only intended to be a one-time national holiday. Every year, they held parades and feasts in honor of him, which was sponsored by mutual assistance organizations, small companies, and local authorities. By the middle of the 20th century, American patriotism and Italian pride were closely associated with Columbus Day celebrations. Italian immigrants and their families used it as a means of demonstrating to American citizens that they were also “good Americans.” The American symbol of Christopher Columbus started to signify “Italian American.”
At the insistence of Catholic lobbying organizations like the Knights of Columbus and well-known Italian American leaders like Generoso Pope in New York City, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a federal holiday in 1937. Columbus Day was thereafter recognized as a national holiday on the American calendar.
Our current perspective on Columbus Day
Following the Civil Rights Movement, Americans reexamined Columbus’s reputation prior to 1992, the 500th anniversary of his landing. A lot of those Italian immigrants’ descendants gave special thought to how his travels affected Native American tribes in both North and South America.
Native American activists contributed to the country’s increased understanding of the bigger picture. They underlined that Columbus’ explorations served as the impetus behind the Transatlantic slave trade, the Columbian Exchange, and the start of the nearly total elimination of Native Americans in the Americas. A reexamination of historical materials reveals a drive for gold, human resources, and the expansion of Christianity outside of Europe. These sources include the Spanish-language diaries of Columbus and his contemporary Bartolomé de las Casas.
The desire in Native American communities to honor the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas gave rise to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. States like Colorado, Alaska, South Dakota, and Vermont, which have bigger native populations than Italian American populations, do not observe Columbus Day. Hawaii observes “Discoverer’s Day,” however they pay tribute to their Polynesian ancestors who also traveled across the ocean, not to the European explorers. Although Columbus Day is a federal holiday, it is up to the states and local governments to decide what to celebrate—or not. For instance, Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day are both observed in the City of Pittsburgh.
In contrast to previous eras, we have to face the fact that Columbus and his company carried out violent deeds, enslavement, and colonization, which resulted in the extinction of the Taíno people. It is undeniable that his standing as an American hero has evolved from the 18th and 19th centuries. Many Italian Americans have come to realize that a holiday named in his honor does not honor the positive contributions of Italian immigrants or the vibrant culture of Americans of Italian heritage.