Should the Harriet Tubman $20 bill be delayed? His Treasury secretary,Jacob Lew, askedfor public comment about who should be added. So, does the "atrocious saint" still belong on the $20? All rights reserved. And yet, for nearly a century, a portrait of America's seventh president has graced the $20 bill something. His passionate support of the measure that led to the Trail of Tearsand anti-Native American policiesis first among them. There is no doubt that President Jackson promoted inclusivity to the wider public for the politics of the United States during . The message it would send by replacing Jackson with a woman like Harriet Tubman would be extremely powerful. Anyone can read what you share. Let the choosing begin! Although Tubmans activities may merit recognition on another bill, she should not replace Jackson, whose contributions did far more to shape Americas destiny. Please be respectful of copyright. The U.S. Department of Treasury has not given a clear explanation about this particular speculation, but observers have pointed out that Jacksons strong resistance to the Central Bank may have actually played a big part in the decision of the Federal Reserve to put his face on the 20-dollar bill and proceed with circulating such paper-based money. In 2019,Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchinsaid the department needed to focus first on addinganti-counterfeiting steps and "security features." "It's actually astonishing how completely the generalized public image has changed and how rapidly it changed," the historian said of Jackson's legacy. And let's have fun doing it. Jackson was known to have forced American Indians into designated areas and reservations out of their native lands. Published April 20, 2016 6 min read Nearly 200 years after his death, Andrew Jackson is stepping away from the United States' cultural consciousness. It didn't, really, for much of American history. The only portrait the secretary islegally required to printon a bill is George Washington, on the $1 bill. Andrew Jackson's presence on the 20 dollar bill is outdated and insensitive to the harm he caused to not only his own nation financially, but also to the thousands of Native Americans who perished under his command. Lindsley between 1860 and 1870. By Kittell's count, Jackson has appeared on 18 pieces of currency, including a $5 bill, a $10, a $50 and a $10,000. There are more $20 bills in circulation than there are people on Earth, according to Federal Reserve data about 8.1 billionin all. The Indian Removal Act he passed resulted in the Trail of Tears; a forced evacuation of the Cherokee people that led to the death over 5,000 of the tribes citizens. Mr. Trump professed to be a fan of Andrew Jackson, a fellow populist, and . But, he said: "I think the debate is healthy. He's heard "whole sentences" in her statements that are "almost directly quoted" fromJackson, including his famous bank-veto document. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Yes, he fired his entire cabinet because of a social dispute, and came from a questionable background. A Treasury spokeswoman said that she had no information to share on when a new design of the $20 bill might be released. We need America to put its money on Black women. So were exploring ways to speed up that effort. The Treasury Department, which Mr. Biden has nominated Janet L. Yellen to lead, plans to accelerate that timeline. What's interesting is that, no matter who has been proposed in his stead, Jackson not Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln has always been the prime target for removal. The Digital Canvas: How Online Art is Changing the Game, How To Use Your Creativity To Create A Space In Your Home You Love, The Most Popular Online Trends We Should Expect To See Continue, How to Come Up with a Research Paper Topic. Consequently, the Confederacy might have survived, thereby splitting America into two countries. He also had disagreements with the Federal Reserve in terms of making paper money. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! He was a slave owner, and hemade his fortune on their labor. As president, Andrew Jackson refused to acknowledge paper money as a real form of currency, and instead favored gold and silver. Mr. Mnuchin said that notes with new imagery could not be put into circulation until 2028 and that a future Treasury secretary would make the call whether to replace Jackson. They are apt to acquire a habit of looking with indifference upon the public interests.. Jackson's importance in American history is beyond question. Commentators like Slates Jillian Keenan have called for his removal from the $20, arguing that Andrew Jackson engineered a genocide. Only one ancient account mentions the existence of Xerxes Canal, long thought to be a tall tale. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday. Andrew Jackson was not only a slave owner but an advocate for the expansion of slavery to the western United States. The history of book bansand their changing targetsin the U.S. Should you get tested for a BRCA gene mutation? STDs are at a shocking high. Andrew Jackson has been the face of the $20 bill since 1928. T he yearlong attempt by the U.S. Treasury Department to select a woman whose face will appear on future American banknotes came to a . I know in a country that worships at the altar of capitalisman economic system made possible by the free Black labor procured through the Transatlantic slave tradea Black womans face on our currency seems like the highest honor we could bestow. They won their rights as a sovereign nation, meaning neither Georgia or the United States had the right to enforce laws over them. The placement of Jackson on the $20 bill is considered ironic; as president, he vehemently opposed both the National Bank and use of paper money. It should. TubmanwasbornAraminta "Minty" Ross in the early 1820s in Dorchester County, Maryland. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Manage Settings His 1829 inauguration was unprecedented: 10,000 people, mostly commoners, attended, many from the West and South. How this animal can survive is a mystery. 2 hours of sleep? Jackson, too, enriched our democratic tradition. By law, no living person can be on a bill, and the secretary of the Treasury is given theauthorityover the design of bills, which includes the portrait. 1, Obama at 18; Kennedy judged most overrated, White House brings back Andrew Jacksons Big Block of Cheese Day with virtual open house. When a majority of voters in the southern states decided the same thing, slavery would end in the South. 2022 U.S. Midterms Dispatch 4: Important Elections in The South, and An Uphill Battle for Progressives. Hamilton should stay because, back in the 1790s when he was treasury secretary, he was right about all the economic issues. With no compelling, historical reason to keep him on, it seems very easy to take him off. Why Andrew Jackson Should Not Be On the 20 Dollar Bill Andrew Jackson does not deserve to be on the 20 dollar bill. Over the years, the choice to feature Jackson on federal currency at all has become controversial, due to his policies while in office, which included the brutal removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands. Consider that just weeks ago, an angry insurrectionist white mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, carrying, among other items, the Confederate flag. The President didnt even like paper money, notes Mufson. It's a Sign of Disrespect. The controversial presidents face has only been on $20 bills since 1928. Indian removal was conspicuously absent. 2022 U.S. Midterms Dispatch 3: Have Recent Primaries Changed Predictions for Fall? Second, even though a southerner, Jackson stopped South Carolina from seceding in 1832 in a dispute over high tariffs, which the North favored but the South opposed. Feller guesses the resonance isn't intentional. Abolitionist and women's suffrage activist Harriet Tubman was a . He told Congress thatchanges to the images on currency would not occur until 2026. Why is that? You have reached your limit of free articles. We don't honor people on the currency just because they're important. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. We are re-upping it in light of news that Harriet Tubman will now appear on the $20, replacing Jackson. No women or people of color have ever been pictured on a denomination of currency still in circulation, though $1 coins have previously been issued featuring Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer of the women's suffrage movement,and Sacagawea, theShoshone woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition across the Louisiana Territory. ", Here's the new plan for the $20, $10 and $5 bills (Video: Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post), Reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House. While Jackson always had detractors, public perception through most of the 20th century centered on these two positive images, the nationalist and the democrat. If the result was a travesty, Andrew Jackson's reputation cannot and should not escape it. Jackson's legacy can and should contain that. This post initially went up last year. That was in 1914, and on those first Federal Reserve Notes, Jackson made his debut on the $10. , Syed Hasan Does this language sound familiar? His difficult personality has been notoriously hard for his biographers to capture. During the Confederacy, as each secessionist state printed its own money, images of enslaved people picking cotton and doing other forms of menial labor appeared on the currency in several states. No one has any idea why hes on the 20. To save chestnut trees, we may have to play God, Why you should add native plants to your garden, What you can do right now to advocate for the planet, Why poison ivy is an unlikely climate change winner. Its important that our money reflect the history and diversity of our country.. In the case of Andrew Jackson, the current narrative leans towards the latter. October 18, 2022 To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. One hears it often today, and it was Jackson who bequeathed it to us. Nearly 200 years after his death,Andrew Jackson is stepping away from the United States' cultural consciousness. Cookie Settings, National Museum of American History - Image by Godot13. What we can learn from Chernobyl's strays. In 1928, the green busts got reshuffled. The same faces all leading statesmen have been on our bills for more than 80 years now. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Create Your Free Account or Sign In to Read the Full Story. The following are 7 reasons why Andrew Jackson should be removed from the 20 dollar bill, and replaced with a woman.
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