Why Christopher Columbus Was the Perfect Icon for a New Nation Looking for a Hero
A little late, but interesting.
Columbus became Columbus in the American Revolution—when the United States sought out an origin story that didn’t involve the British
America's love affair with Christopher Columbus has been a rocky one. Some savor his day to celebrate Italian-American heritage, while others chafe at the impropriety of honoring a man who enslaved and killed thousands of native peoples. But our ubiquitous statues and “Columbias” testify to how passionately most of the nation once embraced Columbus. And if the object of such ardor seems inappropriate in the modern world there's also ample evidence that the whole affair began rather badly—not with affection for Columbus himself but with a disdain for England and the desire for a uniquely American hero.
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So how did Columbus become the idealized symbol of New World discovery? It didn't happen right away. For several centuries after the voyages of discovery Columbus, Cabot and other explorers were mostly bypassed by history.
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“Particularly after 1776, the Americans don't really want to associate themselves with things, including Cabot, that represent British claims to North America at a time when the United States is asserting its independence,” Jones notes. “What they like about Columbus is that at this time he's being portrayed as being almost an Enlightenment figure. He represents freedom, a guy who had turned his back on the Old World and sailed in the name of a monarch and then been treated very badly by that monarch."
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In extreme cases, Bushman adds, Columbus has been employed to entirely obscure not only the Native American era but also the British colonies. “There was a 20th century statue in Worcester, Massachusetts, with this great inscription detailing how wonderful it was that Columbus was 'inspired by the Lord to go forth, search for and find these United States of America.' So there you've just eliminated 300 years of history,” she notes.
