In recent years, some people have worked to paint Columbus in what they would say is a more realistic light, revealing the exploitative elements of his voyages to North America and working to reverse the European-biased view of his endeavors. Others are now
pushing back, arguing that he opened the door to what became the United States, and all it represents. What should the assessment of Columbus be? Was he a violent exporter of disease, slavery and greed? Or were the risk and vision he embodied essential to the
advancement of Western culture? What should elementary textbooks teach about Columbus?