Cultural Movements and Collective Memory 9781403975775ts01.indd i 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM This page intentionally left blank Cultural Movements and Collective Memory Christopher Columbus and the Rewriting of the National Origin Myth Timothy Kubal 9781403975775ts01.indd iii 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM CULTURAL MOVEMENTS AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY Copyright © Timothy Kubal, 2008. All rights reserved. Mixed Media Artwork Copyright by Victoria Kubal, 2008. Portraits of Columbus adapted from woodcut by Jovius, Paulus (ca. 1483–1552) First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7577–5 ISBN-10: 1–4039–7577–9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kubal, Timothy. Cultural movements and collective memory : Christopher Columbus and the rewriting of the national origin myth / Timothy Kubal. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–7577–9 1. Collective memory—United States. 2. Group identity—United States. 3. Columbus, Christopher. 4. America—Discovery and exploration—Spanish. I. Title. HM1027.U6K82 2008 970.01Ј5072—dc22 2007052843 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: September 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. 9781403975775ts01.indd iv 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM CONTENTS List of Figures vii List of Tables ix Foreword xi by Joel Best Preface xiii Abbreviations xvii 1 Rediscovering 1 2 Patriotic 11 3 Religious 31 4 Ethnic: American Indian 57 5 Ethnic: Hispanic American 77 6 Ethnic: Italian American 103 7 Anticolonial 135 8 Remembering and Forgetting 167 Appendix A: Methods 173 Appendix B: Figures and Tables 177 Notes 221 References 237 Index 253 9781403975775ts01.indd v 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM This page intentionally left blank List of Figures 1.1 Columbus in news, 1775–1877 177 2.1 Voter turnout for presidential elections, 1882–1892 178 2.2 U.S. population growth, 1882–1892 179 2.3 Percentage of U.S. population in poverty, 1982–1992 179 2.4 U.S. population growth, 1974–1999 180 2.5 Growth in immigration population in the United States, 1982–1992 180 2.6 American Indian population, 1890–1990 181 3.1 Irish immigration, 1819–1999 182 3.2 Irish immigration, 1887–1893 182 3.3 Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist Church membership, 1882–1892 183 3.4 Methodist Church membership, 1888–1994 184 3.5 Episcopal Church membership, 1925–1990 184 3.6 Presbyterian Church membership, 1888–1990 185 3.7 Catholic Church membership, 1888–1994 186 4.1 Indian population, 1890–1990, San Francisco and Oakland, California 186 4.2 San Francisco population, 1960–2000 187 4.3 Indian population, 1890–1930, New York City 187 5.1 Mexican American immigration, 1950–1975 188 5.2 Mexican American immigration, 1982–1997 188 6.1 Italian immigration, 1879–1999 189 6.2 Italian immigration, 1888–1915 190 6.3 Immigrants from Italy, 1977–1995 191 6.4 Italian immigration, 1930–1950 192 6.5 Number of Columbus statues dedicated in the United States by year, 1820–1897 193 6.6 Number of Columbus statues dedicated in the United States by year, 1898–1998 194 6.7 Italy birthplace, selected cities, 1880–1910 195 6.8 Italy mother’s birthplace, selected cities, 1880–1910 196 6.9 Full employment, last 12 months, whites, selected cities, 1880–1910 197 6.10 Number of Columbus statues dedicated in the United States by state 198 7.1 Individual poverty rates, by race, 1987–2006 199 9781403975775ts01.indd vii 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM viii List of Figures 7.2 High school graduation rates, by race, 1940–2000 200 7.3 College graduation rates, by race, 1940–2000 201 7.4 Public opinion, not enough money for family food, by race, 1984–2007 201 7.5 Public opinion, not enough money for family medicine, by race, 1984–2007 202 7.6 Public opinion, blacks have equal opportunity in employment, by race, 1963–2007 202 7.7 Public opinion, blacks have equal opporutnity in education, by race, 1989–2007 203 7.8 Political process in Denver media, 1988–2004 203 7.9 Emotions near AIM leaders, Denver media, 1988–2005 204 9781403975775ts01.indd viii 8/14/2008 5:55:27 PM List of Tables 2.1 Patriotic frames in presidential proclamations and newspapers 205 2.2 Split political elites, United States, 1884–1892 205 2.3 U.S. population, 1882–1892 (in thousands) 206 2.4 U.S. population growth, 1882–1892 (in thousands) 206 2.5 Net immigration, 1882–1892 206 2.6 MA residents: Birthplace and mothers birthplace, 1880 207 2.7 Split political elites, United States, 1984–1992 208 2.8 Literacy in Boston, 1880 208 4.1 San Francisco segregation, 2000 209 4.2 1992 All People’s Network Conference DQ University, March 1991 210 4.3 University hosts for IPD, 1996–2006 211 4.4 Correlations: Campus IPD and top 50 schools 212 4.5 Correlations: IPD and Indian segregation 212 4.6 Correlations: IPD and Indian population 212 4.7 Correlations: IPD and Indian relative population 212 4.8 Correlations: IPD and poverty 213 4.9 Correlations: IPD and income 213 4.10 Correlations: IPD and income inequality 213 7.1 Correlations: Bloody statue and population, segregation, and state Indian population 213 7.2 Correlations: Bloody statue and relative state Indian population 214 7.3 Correlations: Bloody statue and changes in state Indian population 214 7.4 Correlations: Bloody statue and age/race of state population 214 7.5 Correlations: Bloody statue and IPD, monuments 215 7.6 Correlations: Bloody statue and education 215 7.7 Correlations: Bloody statue and state poverty 215 7.8 Correlations: Bloody statue and poverty for selected groups 216 7.9 Correlations: Bloody statue and income, income inequality 216 7.10 Top 10 states, population growth rankings, 1990–2000 217 7.11 Denver segregation, 1990 217 7.12 Denver population, by race, 1980–2000 218 7.13 College degree population, 2000, ranked by state 218 7.14 U.S. ranking of Colorado metros by percent of population 25 and over with a college or professional degree 218 9781403975775ts01.indd ix 8/14/2008 5:55:28 PM x List of Tables 7.15 Colorado, top 5 reported American Indian or Alaskan tribes by frequency 219 7.16 Arizona, top 5 reported American Indian or Alaskan tribes by frequency 219 7.17 Oklahoma, top 5 reported American Indian or Alaskan tribes by frequency 219 9781403975775ts01.indd x 8/14/2008 5:55:28 PM Foreword Most of us first encounter holidays as children, within the protected context of family, school, or organized religion. Initially, we learn to recognize holidays because they break the everyday routine; adults may be off work, there may be special foods, decorations, music, or celebrations. As children age, the contours of the ritual calendar become clearer; we learn that Halloween precedes Thanksgiving, and so on. Schooling fosters new meanings, so that Thanksgiving comes to be under- stood as related to the history of Pilgrims and New England’s natives. Probably most children—or at least most middle-class, American children—first learn to see holidays as harmonious occasions characterized by particular customs or values. However, as we mature, the contentious nature of holidays becomes more appar- ent. Most recently, Christmas has been a subject for acrimonious debate, with critics arguing that the ambiguous sentiments “season’s greetings” or “happy holidays” represent a “war on Christmas.”1 Often, there is an assumption that things have only recently changed, that the holiday customs we learned as children are centuries old, and that today’s developments threaten to tarnish a sacred tradition. But this only means we have forgotten the complexities of holidays’ histories. For example, most of us are unaware that the first American campaign against Christmas was fought by reformers trying to control the drunken, disorderly young men who marked the holi- day in what they considered the traditional way—by carousing through the streets.2 In fact, many holidays have contentious histories. The American ritual calendar has been shaped by the claims of aspiring groups—often newly organized immigrants— demanding their own “days.” Thus, Irish immigrants celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and Italian Americans celebrated Columbus Day, while Labor Day honored workers. The process continues: Martin Luther King Day (African Americans) is a legal holiday; while Cinco de Mayo (Mexicans) has gained widespread visibility; and even Gay Pride Day gets mainstream media coverage. Publicly celebrating a holiday—and having those celebrations acknowledged by the larger society—is a way of claiming an important place within America. Often, the story ends there. Each March, cities with large Irish American popula- tions host St. Patrick’s Day parades, some people wear green or perhaps exchange cards or even gifts and that’s about it. But, as Timothy Kubal points out in this book about Columbus and Columbus Day, there is always the potential for new, contrary meanings to emerge, for what was once a matter of consensus to become an issue of conflict.