“How Do Americans View Christopher Columbus and George Washington Today?”

Breanna Cale DeBord 1206 Crystal Lane Tahlequah, OK 74464 918-453-9366 breannacdebord@yahoo.com Tahlequah High School, 10th Grade Cherokee Capital Chapter NSDAR 878 words

Christopher Columbus and George Washington forever changed; and some Americans may agree “created” the world we live in today. Columbus and Washington are two very important men in America’s history. Today, Americans view them not only as great men but as heroes. Christopher Columbus and George Washington both overcame their own obstacles and faced much misfortune and difficulties, but in their own profoundly impressive ways. Americans can apply inspiration and a hard work ethic to their lives and draw moral lessons from the success that Washington and Columbus achieved; and the experiences of these men. George Washington and Christopher Columbus dealt with and overcame the challenges they faced in many ways that were alike, but also many ways that were different. Christopher Columbus was an Italian Explorer, navigator, and a colonizer. He completed several voyages that led him to discover the American Continents and providing the Europeans their newly found awareness of those continents. Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach America, his voyages “led to the first lasting European contact with the Americas, inaugurating a period of European exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted for several centuries.” Christopher Columbus liked to believe that his success was helping the spread of the Christian religion. Columbus liked to help and did much trading. In 1476 he “took part in an armed convoy sent by Genoa” to carry a cargo that had great value to Northern Europe. In 1482 Christopher Columbus traded along the coasts of West Africa, “reaching the Portuguese trading post. He had the characteristic of being ambitious; always showing a strong desire and determination to succeed and reach his goals with hard work and effort. George Washington, the first president of the United States, shared this great characteristic with Columbus; having overcome many obstacles and hardships much different than those of Christopher Columbus. In 1788, George Washington was elected President. It was a unanimous choice among the electors. Washington somehow bravely managed to force the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and captured. Even still, George Washington inspiringly ended up defeating the British “in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause”. As previously stated, Washington achieved many great goals, just as Christopher Columbus had. They both kept their heads high during their challenges and proved to people that the impossible can be reached and threw out all doubts that had ever been thought about them. Christopher Columbus and George Washington faced their adversities in ways that changed history and changed people’s lives forever. Americans can apply inspiration to their lives from the experiences of both George Washington and Christopher Columbus. Columbus’s voyages and discoveries “allowed for the colonization of America”. He set everyone exploring and changed the world. Before Columbus discovered a new world, many Europeans thought there was “nothing beyond Europe and that the World was flat”. He had a huge impact on Europe at that time and Columbus’s discovery of a new world “was the beginning of the Age of Exploration.” Christopher Columbus’s great achievements leave todays Americans inspired to set out to do the unbelievable. Columbus proved people wrong and reshaped the World. Him doing so shows Americans that they can do anything they work hard enough for. Christopher Columbus worked hard and did not give up until he succeeded, which is a legacy and a characteristic that lives on today in Americans. Following Christopher Columbus’s great achievements, George Washington “oversaw the