Ironically, the one-time slave will replace the seventh president Andrew Jackson, who was a slave owner, on the $20 note.
Advertisement
The $10 bill and Alexander Hamilton had been next in line for redesign, but the popularity of “Hamilton” on Broadway convinced Lew that the nation’s first Treasury secretary should stay put. “So here she is a woman, an African American, on the face of the $20 bill”, Williams said.
The $2 bill now features the image of Thomas Jefferson.
Carson insisted he had nothing against Tubman, but said Jackson deserved to stay where he is.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wrote on twitter: “I can not think of an American hero more deserving of this honor than Harriet Tubman”.
Tubman’s brother Moses was one of the first slaves she brought to St. Catharines.
She also was active during the Civil War, working for the Union Army as a nurse, cook, armed scout and spy.
The change from the $10 to $20 bill has won applause from women as the $20 bill is more widely circulated. “So I’m very happy, but I certainly wish that in the future that some consideration be given to removing Jackson from the back of the $20 bill”. She personifies the American ideals of courage, honor and self sacrifice and stands as an impeccable role model for affecting positive change through perseverance, commitment and enlightenment.
Tubman, who died in 1913 at the age of 91, escaped slavery in the South and eventually led hundreds of escaped slaves to freedom as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad.
“The little girl who asked Obama a year ago why there aren’t any women on US bills has finally gotten a letter back from the President – and she’s invited to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll”.
But the grassroots group Women On 20s launched a powerful campaign to get the $20 note revamp sped up, with a woman featured, in time for 2020, the 100th anniversary of American women receiving the right to vote.
There’s a slight variation among those using paper versus plastic: 60 percent of those who use credit cards prefer Tubman on the $20 bill, compared to 54 percent of those who pay with cash.
Tubman’s story is a well-known one, but is worth repeating.
Advertisement
The back of the $5 bill will have an image of singer Marian Anderson and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
