She is the first African American on USA paper money and the first woman depicted on paper currency in 100 years.
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The changes are part of an effort by the Obama administration to put a woman on paper currency and Lew said that along with Tubman becoming the face of the $20 bill, images of women and civil rights era leaders will also be added to bills.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary had announced, and then changed, plans to swap Alexander Hamilton’s face from the $10.
Tubman won a poll organized previous year by the Women on 20s campaign, which attracted more than 600,000 voters.
The change was sparked by a grassroots campaign to dedicate the $20 bill exclusively to women. Reportedly, “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda even lobbied Lew last month to keep Hamilton on the $10 bill. She will give the boot to the nation’s sixth president and the founder of the Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson, on the $20 bill, and save the founder of the nation’s financial system, Alexander Hamilton, from being kicked off the $10 bill.
In 2015, Lew said he was considering replacing Hamilton on the $10, but the hit Broadway musical and fans of the statesman saved the first Treasury secretary.
“I can not think of an American hero more deserving of this honor than Harriet Tubman”, he tweeted. On the $5 bill, the front will still feature President Lincoln but the reverse will depict historic events that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial and include opera singer Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt, according to the U.S. Treasury.
“I love Harriet Tubman”, the former GOP White House hopeful told Fox Business Network’s Neil Cavuto.
Lew said the designs should be unveiled by 2020 and go into circulation “as quickly as possible”, although he declined to say when.
Winfrey sees Tubman’s presence on the bill as historically significant, but also realizes it may carry less impact in a decade or so. “But I don’t have any news to make on Treasury’s behalf, at least not today”.
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The 10 dollar bill is the next note on Treasury’s redesign calendar, and it aims introduce updated protections against counterfeiting. Subsequent production of the $10 bill would take precedence, although Lew said all three notes could be in wallets before 2030.
