Historic Highlights: Columbus Day in past decades was a mix

Due to recent controversy, the Columbus Day holiday has diminished in importance on the calendar. The holiday wasn’t that big a deal a century ago in Illinois, either.

While many holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving, have exploded in American culture over the decades, Columbus Day never achieved the popularity of other special days. In past eras, few seemed to notice or care.

The first Columbus Day commemoration is believed to date from 1792, when the Columbian Order of New York (later known as the infamous Tammany Hall political machine) celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas, on Oct. 12, 1492.

The day was celebrated in pockets from there, particularly among Italian-Americans and Catholics, a nod to Columbus’ birthplace and religion. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison noted the 400th anniversary with a proclamation.

Thanks to lobbying from the Knights of Columbus, the day became a national holiday in 1937 and was observed every Oct. 12 until 1971, when Congress set the date as the second Monday in October.

The holiday was controversial almost from the outset, though for different reasons than today. In the 19th century, anti-immigrant groups called to end Columbus Day because of its connection to Catholicism.

In 1922, protests took a different path. Petitions were forwarded to Congress to halt Columbus Day because “there are already too many holidays, and the purposes of existing holidays are perverted. Prize fights on the Fourth of July are more patronized than patriotic celebrations … Thanksgiving Day is more given up to sports than to prayers or thanks.”

Too many holidays decried the petition, which led to “idle habits in our people which is essentially the decay of nations” and pointed out a longstanding debate – that Columbus did not discover America.

Since then, American Indian groups have ripped Columbus for his harsh treatment of native peoples, the beginnings of colonization and the slave trade, and the deadly diseases that European transplants brought to native populations.

As a result, Columbus Day has been taken off the school calendar in some cities, including Chicago, while other cities and states have replaced the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day. Those celebrations gained a foothold in 1992 with the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ landing, which was marked in parts of the globe.

Over a century ago in 1922, Columbus Day was a mixed bag, and few seemed to pay much attention. Banks were closed in Moline, Rock Island and Normal, but were open in the Chicago suburb of Addison.

Chicago banks were also closed, which may have been an economic hit. The Chicago Tribune reported that “bank clearings” in the city experienced “a decline of $99.1 million from the preceding week, due largely to the fact that last week contained the Columbus Day holiday.”

Elsewhere in Chicago in 1922, the Board of Trade and stock exchanges were also closed, as was the case in New York City, Kansas City, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Toledo. Some county offices, including those in DeWitt County near Decatur, also took the day off.

Some schoolchildren honored the holiday. In Lake County, seventh graders at Schultz School wrote biographical papers on Columbus, while sixth graders produced handmade calendars. Third and fourth graders wrote papers of their own and also made booklets for the occasion.

Near Champaign, the History IV class at Buckley High School celebrated the day with “various appropriate topics” on Columbus, which “resulted in a very interesting discussion.” Many Illinoisans today remember similar activities during their school days.

Some found inspiration in the occasion. The Edwardsville Intelligencer printed a poem on Oct. 10, 1922, on Columbus, while the Olney Advocate referred to the holiday in its daily Bible thought.

Other papers took up the protests in 1922, albeit in different ways. The Belleville Messenger lamented that Columbus Day “is granted grudging progress” in some sectors, and asked, “Was the great discoverer too Catholic even to be mentioned in our non-sectarian system?”

The Rock Island Argus was even more pessimistic, pondering “If Columbus came to Rock Island today do you imagine that he would be proud of his discovery? Neither do we.”

Across the Atlantic, however, The Associated Press reported on the movement to make Columbus Day a worldwide holiday, which was enthusiastically reflected in celebrations in over 150 communities in France.

Today, several nations in Latin America and Europe honor Columbus’ journeys, though their holidays carry different names, and often varying purposes.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.