History.com: Christopher Columbus: How the Explorer's Legend Grew and Then Drew Fire

Christopher Columbus has long been exalted as a heroic figure in American history: the first explorer to establish a European presence in the New World. Americans have celebrated his arrival as far back as 1792, the 300th anniversary of his landing. But it would take almost 200 more years, and a century-long campaign by Italian Americans-to establish a federal holiday in his name. Recently, Columbus has become controversial. Between slavery, disease, overwork and famine, it is estimated that the Taino people were reduced from hundreds of thousands at the time of Columbus's arrival to just a few hundred some 60 years later.