Tubman has many monikers for her daring and heroic exploits as conductor of the ‘Underground Railroad.’ However, thanks to a contested but sage PR move by the U.S. Treasury, the woman known as “Moses of her People” in the 1850s will become the face of the $20.
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In contrast, Tubman was a former slave who helped scores of other slaves escape to freedom.
“The little girl who asked Obama previous year 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”. Originally, the plan was to have a historical female figure replace Alexander Hamilton’s on the $10 bill, but due to the surging response from citizens that demanded Hamilton stay on the bill, the change was switched to the $20. On Wednesday he suggested that she should instead appear on the $2 bill. I say let’s put him on the $2 bill, if anybody can find one.
Harriet Tubman in a photo dated between 1860 -1875. Andrew Jackson, who will be reduced in size and moved to the back of the $20, as president also signed the Indian Removal Act, which eventually led to the Cherokee Trail of Tears.
Lew said the designs should be unveiled by 2020 and go into circulation “as quickly as possible”, although he declined to say when.
Jackson was the founder of the Democratic Party, whose origins even today are celebrated at Jefferson-Jackson Day dinners by party regulars, honoring not only Jackson, but a slave owner, like George Washington and several of the Founding Fathers.
“What would make this a true cause for celebration is for Lew to announce that he will fast-track the $20 note, putting it into production alongside the new $10, which is first in line, for security reasons”.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew confirmed Wednesday that Tubman will be the first African-American featured on U.S. money. The former slave and abolitionist is replacing the former slave-owning president, and she’s not the only one. “I said from the very start, he would remain a part of our currency”, said Jacob Lew, U.S. Treasury Secretary.
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But the $10 will have a new reverse side: Leaders of the suffrage movement, including Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Images of Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt will be added to the back of the $5 bill. “Our paper bills – and the images of great American leaders and symbols they depict – have always been a way for us to honor our past and express our values”.
