The announcement brought widespread cheers.
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WASHINGTON – Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist who was born a slave, will stand with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin as among the iconic faces of US currency.
More than half, 56 percent, of the 1,500 Americans surveyed in data published by SurveyMonkey on Thursday say they think putting Tubman on the bill is the right move.
In his letter, Secretary Lew noted that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will work closely with the Federal Reserve to accelerate work on the new $20 and $5 notes, with the goal that all three new notes go into circulation as quickly as possible, consistent with security requirements. What impressed her so much in learning about Tubman was that she not only escaped from slavery, but risked her life to help others do the same. Hamilton is a hero in the Treasury as the architect of the U.S. financial system.
It shouldn’t have taken a Broadway musical for Lew to know taking Hamilton off any currency was a wrong. Our website, modernmoney.treasury.gov, will highlight numerous names that we heard throughout this process, and help tell some of the many stories that inspired us. Strong opposition, including pushback from the college, greeted the department’s initial plan to demote the founding father to make way for a woman to appear on the paper currency. President Lincoln will remain on the front and the image of the Lincoln Memorial will be redesigned to showcase various events that happened there including Opera singer Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert and the famous “I Have a Dream” speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr.in 1963.
Lew said the target for the redesigns, which are complicated by the need to employ the most modern anti-counterfeiting technology, was 2020.
He suggested that “maybe we do the $2 bill or we do another bill” for Tubman. Harriet Tubman will be replacing former American President Andrew Jackson, a wealthy slave owner, on the front of the $20 bill.
During his presidency, many people at the time looked upon him as stalwart defender of the union and the savior of the American republic, Feller said.
“When the next administration comes in”, he said, “I hope we can convince the next treasurer to print an equal number of $20 bills with both Jackson and Tubman”. “I can’t think of a better choice”.
“For a slave owner like that to share a bill, back, front or sideways, with Harriet Tubman, of all people, is truly an insult”, said Laurel Ullyette, president of the Harriet Tubman Boosters organization and member of the Auburn/Cayuga County chapter of the NAACP.
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Harriet Tubman changed the world one slave at a time… what are you waiting for?
