Currency is one of the items which represents a country and is an intrinsic part of its culture. It usually has value. Not only do local residents use currency; but so do travelers who visit that country. Many travelers even collect currency. One question that has been recently renewed in the United States is: will Harriet Tubman replace Andrew Jackson on the twenty dollar bill?
Will Harriet Tubman Replace Andrew Jackson on Twenty Dollar Bill in the United States?
The call to have Andrew Jackson replaced by Harriet Tubman on the twenty dollar bill has been renewed. “Images on U.S. paper currency are a reflection of our values and history, and more than that, these images send a message to Americans and world travelers about the story of America. Some of the most significant chapters of our collective history were shaped by women, which is why it’s egregious that a woman has never been featured on U.S. paper currency. That status quo has to go,” according to this press release that was issued on Thursday, March 2, 2023 from the office of Jeanne Shaheen, who is one of the two senators of the United States who represents New Hampshire. “I’m renewing my call to the Department of Treasury to redesign the $20 bill in Harriet Tubman’s likeness. An abolitionist, a patriot and an American icon — Harriet Tubman is supremely deserving of this honor. I’ve pushed numerous administrations to make this a priority and I won’t stop until we see it through. Women and girls, and particularly communities of color, deserve to see themselves represented and honored on U.S. paper currency.”
The full text of the bill that was introduced by Shaheen to the first session of the 118th Congress calls for the twenty dollar notes bearing the likeness of Harriet Tubman to be printed and circulate by Tuesday, December 31, 2030.
Jack Lew — who was the secretary of the Department of Treasury of the United States from 2013 to 2017 — was expected to roll out a set of changes, according to this article which was originally published on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at The Gate With Brian Cohen. The changes reportedly included “putting leaders of the women’s suffrage movement on the back of the $10 bill, and incorporating civil rights era leaders and other important moments in American history into the $5 bill. Also, Jackson isn’t getting completely booted off the $20 bill. He’s likely to remain on the back.”
This was in response to harsh criticism when the original plan was to replace the portrait of Alexander Hamilton — who was instrumental in creating the Department of Treasury of the United States; as well as the modern financial system in the United States — with a portrait of a woman yet to be named on the ten dollar bill. That plan has since been abandoned — especially as the movement to keep Alexander Hamilton on the ten dollar bill gathered strength after the Broadway musical named after the founding father became a smash hit.
Should Andrew Jackson Have Been on the Twenty Dollar Bill in the First Place?
The portrait of Andrew Jackson has appeared on the twenty dollar bill since the series of 1928 — which is considered ironic, as he vehemently opposed both the National Bank in his attempt to demolish the Second Bank of America and the use of paper money in favor of either gold or silver as the seventh president of the United States.
“Does it not seem contradictory to put a president that harmed the American economy on the 20 dollar bill? There are other figures in American history who contributed far more successfully to the financial growth and developed of the United States”, according to Lea George in this article pertaining to a point counterpoint debate at The Standard that was published back on Monday, November 18, 2019. “Not only were his economic policies questionable, but Jackson was also a firm advocate of the expansion of slavery to the west of the growing U.S. It is true that there are presidents like Thomas Jefferson who owned slaves and is on the 2 dollar bill, however not only did Jackson own slaves, he also opposed any sort of anti-slavery reform and sentiment growing in the North during his presidency. There are many times were Jackson used his executive power to prevent anti-slavery legislature from passing.”
George also opined that after completely ignoring a ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Worcester v. Georgia — which ordered that the state of Georgia had no legal power in the Cherokee region — in 1830, Jackson officially signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced the relocation of thousands of Native Americans to the west and essentially set up what is now known as the Trail of Tears.
“Jackson was different. Born to two Irish-Americans, he was the first and only president to come from an entirely immigrant household. Growing up in the working class, Jackson had little formal education”, Lucas Romualdo argued in the aforementioned debate. “A core tenet of Jackson’s ideology was support for common people, which distinguished him from his predecessors’ patrician approach to governance. Even on his inauguration, Jackson hosted an open party at the White House for anybody to freely attend, demonstrating his commitment to a more open and democratized administration.”
The twenty dollar bill had undergone no fewer than a dozen iterations memorializing eight different people over the course of 66 years prior to the portrait of Andrew Jackson appearing on it for the past 95 years.
About Harriet Tubman
Born Araminta “Minty” Ross sometime in March of 1822 into slavery in Maryland as one of nine children in her family, Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist and social activist who was beaten and whipped as a child before finally escaping from slavery in 1849 when she went to Philadelphia. A notice was issued that offered a reward of $100.00 in return for the capture and return of “Minty” and her brothers Henry and Ben.
She then returned to Maryland to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people — including her family and friends — during multiple missions using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses which became collectively known as the Underground Railroad.
As she “never lost a passenger”, Tubman was nicknamed Moses, which alluded to the biblical prophet who led the Hebrew people to freedom from Egypt. The holiday Passover commemorates the escape from Egypt by Jewish people.
Araminta changed her first name to Harriet after marrying John Tubman sometime in 1844.
Tubman was a brave woman who experienced more than her fair share of adversity throughout her life and deserves to be honored for her work.
Final Boarding Call
As with airports and statues and monuments, I wonder if anyone should officially be memorialized on the currency of a country. I cannot recall exactly how many times I looked at the currency of another country and either knew the person who was depicted on it or was piqued at finding out more information about that person — but that may be just me. I either used that currency to either purchase a product or service; or I would simply add it to my collection of currencies from around the world.
One year prior to the introduction and issuance of the very first twenty dollar bill in the United States, a demand note with a depiction of Lady Liberty holding a sword and shield on the front was released in 1861, with an abstract design on the back, which was printed green. Perhaps this design should have remained unchanged instead of memorializing a real person — or use a symbolic reference to illustrate democracy and freedom, such as a bald eagle.
As for whether the portrait of Andrew Jackson versus Harriet Tubman should be on the twenty dollar bill in the United States, I have no preference. Twenty dollars is twenty dollars. I never look at money and admire — or dislike — the portrait of who is printed on it.
However, I would be against changing the currency simply for the sake of changing a portrait, as that costs money to do. If the changes need to be done anyway — for example, to include new security features — that is reasonably understandable.
I do not particularly care whose portrait is on currency in general. Do you?
Photograph ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
