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CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS : THE FIRST IMMIGRANT ?  Columbus Day It is a national American holiday celebrating the coming of Christopher Columbus on the American ground, mostly by Italian Americans. It isn’t celebrated in every state. The idea behind this day is to honor and celebrate the efforts made by the Europeans in the discovery of America. Columbus Day has been established by the Italian lobbyists of America in 1869 (Proclamation 3873), but not because he was Italian. It was instituted to honor Columbus’s faith, courage and imagination. He had the spirit of the typical American pioneer. Columbus Day evolution: -

1869: first celebration of Columbus Day in San Francisco, 1907: Colorado makes Columbus Day a state holiday, 1937: Columbus Day becomes a federal holiday, 1971: a specific day to celebrate Columbus Day is instituted (second Friday of October).

At its institution, there has been a lot of protests, as for many, Columbus arriving in America triggered the Native Americans’ genocide.

 How people see Christopher Columbus For Europeans, Columbus is the man who discovered America. Therefore, Italian Americans claim their legitimacy on the continent, they own it. They even refer themselves as the “Sons of Columbus”. Columbus is a hero they want to be associated to. The fact that Columbus is from Genoa (Italy) creates a bond between America and Italy and make American and Italian peoples “brothers”.  Italian argument: “without Columbus, there would be no America. America owes Italy. We are legitimate on the American Soil” Columbus is also often described as the first emigrant and the facts that he went through suffering, had to cross the ocean and made it once in America, make him an emblematic hero. Some radicals (communists, socialists etc.) used him as victim of the Catholic Church.

 Glorifying immigrants’ heroes In the 19th century, immigrants started to build statues representing their heroes to glorify them. It was a popular way of remembering what’s important in the History of America, and shows what a State wants to remember. Raising up statues was an opportunity for immigrants to go out of their areas, and show of. Statues were not just some piece of stone: whenever a statue was attacked, immigrants felt like they were the victim of the attack....