Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. On Oct. 12, 517 years later, banks are closed and there’s no mail. And despite being a federal holiday, for most in the U.S. it’s another day at the office.

Observed on the second Monday in October, the holiday celebrates the achievements of Christopher Columbus, a man who lived almost three centuries before the U.S. Federal Government even existed, much less created a holiday in his honor. But for such a loosely observed federal holiday, Columbus Day generates no small amount of controversy: the day, like the man himself, is reviled by critics who feel Columbus’ arrival in the New World opened the doors to hundreds of years of exploitation and genocide. Is it really worth it?

Many Italian Americans in particular think so. Columbus Day has its roots in cultural pride, a celebration of the Italian explorer’s “discovery” of the Americas when he landed on a Caribbean island in what’s now the Bahamas on Oct. 12, 1492.

Franklin Roosevelt created the first federal observance of Columbus Day in 1937; Richard Nixon established the modern holiday by presidential proclamation in 1972.

New York City continues to show Columbus Day pride — the city holds the largest parade for it in the country. But these public shows of support draw frequent protests from Native Americans, who make the point that Columbus discovered nothing — indigenous populations were living in the Americas long before European explorers made their first tentative trips across the Atlantic. And once here, Columbus wasn’t exactly kind to his new neighbors. Indeed, on his very first day in the New World, Columbus took six natives as slaves. He’d go on to press thousands more into forced labor, killing dissenters. Even his own colonists didn’t like him — complaints led him to be called back by his Spanish royal sponsors in 1500.

While there have been some efforts to get its federal-holiday status revoked, many seem content to simply ignore the holiday entirely. The two exceptions are retailers, for whom Columbus Day is the first big sales opportunity after August’s back-to-school rush, and those who have repurposed the holiday into something less problematic (South Dakotans, for example, celebrate Native Americans Day instead). But relax, weary workers. Thanksgiving’s little more than a month away, and that, at least, is a federal holiday most of us can agree is worthy of a day off.

As I mentionned Rosie the Riveter in class today, here are a few pictures of this cultural icon.

She represented the American women who worked in war factories during World War II many of whom worked in the factories and manufacturing plants  that produced munitions and materiel. These women sometimes took entirely new jobs and sometimes took the places of the male workers who were in the military. The character is now considered a feminist icon in the US, and a herald of women’s economic power to come.

Real “Rosies” at work :

As Obama has now spent his first 100 days in office, this video reflects on the worst first 100 days of some past American presidents.

The commentary is quite slow so you sould be able to understand this video.

a video about Rosa Parks who fought for equality and civil rights in America :

I found this video about Ellis Island. This is easy to understand.

You may know that John McCain is the oldest candidate to run for the presidency. He’s 72 ! He is also a Vietnam War Veteran.  In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, badly injured, and captured by North Vietnamese soldiers. He was a POW (Prisoner of War) until 1973 (so for SIX years !)  , experiencing episodes of torture. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations : that’s why you may have noticed that he has a slight limp (= il boite).

I suggest this video from an old News TV show called by Panorama.

Of course, Hollywood sonn turned his history into an action movie !

Good luck with this quiz on the American Presidents ! Have fun !

This article will tell you more about Ellis Island. It’s not difficult to understand, try and read it !

The media mention a lot  the_great_depression as a comparison with today’s financial crisis. Here are a few pictures related to this event. This first picture by Dorothea Lange is a classic (you may have seen it in you Histoty textbook). It’s title “Migrant Mother” also evokes immigration.  During The Dust Bowl families also left their homes in search of a better work.

This second picture evokes unemployement as a consequence of the Great Depression.

To finish, a short video from the BBC. Watch the images of the 1929 Crisis

This is a SILENT video but it shows how they arrived