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US Treasury To Feature Harriet Tubman On $20 Bill (reuters.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Harriet Tubman will become the first African-American woman to be featured on the face of U.S. paper currency in more than a century. Tubman was born a slave and went on to become an anti-slavery crusader. Ironically, she will be replacing Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the U.S. and a slave owner. According to Wikipedia, "Jackson held as many as 44 [slaves] by 1820, and later held up to 150 slaves, making him among planter elite. Throughout his lifetime Jackson may have owned as many as 300 slaves." The decision to feature a woman on a bill started in part from a young girl's letter to President Obama about the lack of women on U.S. currency. A social media campaign "Women on 20s" then began pushing for a woman to replace Jackson on the currency early last year. Originally, the department announced it would feature a woman on the $10 bill instead of Alexander Hamilton. Now it's being reported Hamilton will stay on the front of the bill with a group of women on the back of it. Civil rights era leaders will reportedly be depicted in the new $5 bill.
Jackson was a decisive and forceful leader. He had lots of good attributes but he was a serious asshole as well. Aside from his position on slavery which was not really an issue at the time there was the way he treated the Native Americans. In particular the horrible way the Cherokee in Georgia were ripped from their land and sent on the Trail of Tears where so many perished. These people were guilty of no violent acts and in fact were in some ways more civilized than their white neighbors. The Cherokee nation had it's own written language and printed newspapers and interacted well with their white neighbors. At least until gold was discovered on their lands. For this and some other actions Jackson is reviled by Native Americans. Every time I drive by the State Capital in Atlanta and see that gold on the dome I feel ashamed.
Setting aside her race and gender, I like this choice for the fact that for once we're acknowledging the importance of someone who wasn't in a leadership position. We have this tendency to celebrate the person in charge and ignore the grunts, especially when it comes to presidents, and I'm glad to see someone else on a bill.
(Yes, Ben Franklin was never technically a president but only because he was too old. He might as well have been one.)