The US Treasury announced this summer that Alexander Hamilton will be replaced by a woman on the $10 bill in 2020. What hasn’t been announced yet is whose face will appear.
Photo Credit: Tax Credits (Creative Commons)
Alexander Hamilton, if you did not know, was our nation’s first US secretary treasurer. He also developed our monetary system. His current successor, Jacob J. Lew (the secretary treasurer), said that Hamilton will not be pulled from circulation, but a new face will be added in sometime in 2020. The year was chosen to mark the 100th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote.
I don’t normally post on current events like this, but the more research I did, the more I thought this would be a beneficial opportunity for discussion.
Also, I don’t consider myself a feminist. Honestly, the former bank teller in me is what drew me to this topic. I prefer when someone is honored for more than just chromosomes. Or conversely when someone is not recognized due to their chromosomes. But the more I read about the amazing women nominated for this honor, the more I saw that their accomplishments had little to do with their gender.
Twitter Poll
When I read about the US Treasury asking Twitter users to nominate potential candidates, I started to see how many heavy hitters there were at bat. Using the hashtag #TheNew10, hundreds of Twitter users cast their votes. According to the Huffington Post, here are the top three:
- Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady from 1933-1945 (the Great Depression & World War 2) and a strong advocate for human rights, working closely with the UN.
- Harriet Tubman, a woman born into slavery, who later became an abolitionist and led hundreds of slaves into freedom through the Underground Railroad.
- Sacagawea, the Native American explorer who guided Lewis & Clark on their famous expedition across the US in 1803.
Others mentioned were Rosa Parks (took a stand for civil rights), Betsy Ross (colonial flag creator), Emily Dickinson (American poet), Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross) and Helen Keller (author, activist, first deaf-blind person to graduate with a Bachelors degree).
Who would you add to this list?
$10 or $20 Debate
There was some heated debate about whether or not Andrew Jackson, our 7th president, should be replaced on the $20 bill. He was responsible for founding the Democratic party, but he was also responsible for forcing Native Americans into a mass migration that killed thousands known as the Trail of Tears (my husband’s Cherokee ancestors were among them).
I won’t go into more details on that topic, but since this is an opinion post, and it rings much closer to home for me, I wanted to include it.
Share Your Opinion
So now it’s time for you to add your input. Answer one of the following questions in the comments below:
- What are your thoughts on the US treasury adding a woman to the $10 bill?
- Who would you pick? Why?
There are many great choices. If I had to choose, I would be fine with Eleanor Roosevelt or Harriet Tubman. I’m ashamed to admit, I really haven’t studied these women in great detail. But now I plan on researching them – to better understand their contributions to history.
After all, that is the whole point of this, right?
Harriet Tubman, for sure! Maybe by then Carly Fiorina will be a candidate to go on a bill. She rocks!
Thanks for casting a vote, Columba! Harriet Tubman would be a wonderful choice. I recently learned that it’s illegal to put a living person on US currency. Go figure. But perhaps if Carly Fiorina wins the election, her day will come!
I think the word “feminism” has been given a hard time recently. I think of it as expressing the view that women are of equal value to men. It recognizes that women have not been equally valued historically, and that proactive initiatives have to be implemented in order for that equality to become manifest. The right to vote. The right to education. The right to financial independence. These were all won for women through the work of feminists, and I’m grateful to them.
I’m glad that a woman will soon be on the American $10 bill. It’s a proactive initiative to recognize the contributions of women to American society. My choice would be Harriet Tubman. Her story is so inspiring!
I agree with you on how “feminism” has been misconstrued. Your definition is something I too believe in; thank you for pointing it out. I grew up with all boys, so I couldn’t help but watch the world through their lens. We’d see commercials or TV shows where the wife was the strong, capable heroine, and the husband was always getting everything wrong and making a mess. I’m so passionate about marriage and family, so when the media would turn feminism into something so disrespectful to dads and husbands, I couldn’t help but cringe. But you’re right, that was only one angle.
I’m going with Harriet Tubman.
Thanks for sharing, Jason! She’s definitely a great contender. Studying the Underground Railroad was one of my favorite chapters in history.
Laura, check and see, but I believe last year due to a writing assignment that my daughter had, we learned that Betsy Ross wasn’t as involved in the flag as we were led to believe. Harriet Tubman would be my choice as well.
Good to know, Rachel. I will have to read up on Betsy Ross again. I love it when we learn something new from our kids.