On Wednesday April 20, Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew had announced that there would be a very important change to the United States dollar.
He announced that Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, would be replaced by Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill. However, Jackson will be placed on the back of the $20 bill. In addition, this move would incorporate prominent women’s history figures on the reverse of the $10 bill. This was done, according to the New York Times, to commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. Tubman will be the first woman to be depicted on the front of American century since since Martha Washington was on the $1 silver certificate. These changes are to made in 2020, the centennial of the 19th amendment.
Here is my stance on this news. I actually support the currency changes, since it reflects the new America. We are no longer the America of just white men, and Harriet Tubman helped change America’s course. A former slave, she conducted the Underground Railroad, which led over 300 slaves to the free states of the North and even to Canada. In addition, Tubman was a supporter of women’s suffrage until her death in 1913 at the age of 91. Based on this information, I believe that Tubman is a welcome addition to the $20 bill.
What about Andrew Jackson? Let us examine Jackson’s life, shall we? Andrew Jackson was a slave-owner and even personally hunted slaves who escaped his property – a direct contrast to the former slave and later abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Indeed, the Hermitage – a museum dedicated to Jackson’s former residence – describes slavery as the “source of Andrew Jackson’s wealth”. In addition, Jackson was staunchly opposed to the Bank of the United States, and vetoed a bill to recharter it. That doesn’t make sense, a President opposed to central banking showing up on our currency. We must change that.
But there is another reason why we should remove Jackson from the $20 bill. In 1830, Jackson signed the aptly-named Indian Removal Act, which gave the President the power to negotiate treaties with Native Americans living east of the Mississippi River. By the end of his presidency in 1837, Jackson had removed over 46,000 Native Americans from their lands. Is it really appropriate for our currency to commemorate a slave-owning genocide perpetrator? I believe not, and we should change our currency.
Based on this information, I look forward to seeing Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. She was a figure that made America what it is for the better, by calling for the freedom of slaves and the votes of women. Andrew Jackson, on the other hand, was a man who brought shame to our country. Which do you want, America: pride or shame?
We are all Americans, and we should be proud of the people who helped make us equal.
TheCentristVoice 