Why Tubman Fits the Bill
Is that all? Your total is...” As the cashier reads out the numbers on the register, you scuffle through your wallet. You find what you need: a 20 dollar bill. On one side, you catch a glimpse of the White House; on the other, you come eye to eye with our seventh President, Andrew Jackson. In about three years, you may instead greet the visage of famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman on that side. Or not.
Brushing off the matter as trivial, Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin has recently cast into doubt a promise dating back to the Obama administration to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the 20 dollar bill. However, while Jackson is revered for his renowned service in the War of 1812 and his founding of the Democratic Party, he was complicit in the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that ended in the notorious and deadly Trail of Tears for the Cherokee and other Indian nations. Facing injustice since a tender age, Harriet Tubman was an undoubtedly resilient woman despite gruesome circumstances and one of the most influential abolitionists of the Civil War era. In light of her critical accomplishments that set the stage for the gradual breakdown of racial discrimination, Tubman definitely deserves to be amongst other American historical figures on our currency.
But it’s not just accomplishments and tenacity towards achieving a noble cause that makes Harriet Tubman a prime candidate for being featured on our currency: she represents what needs to be depicted in our currency. Currently, our banknotes mostly depict former presidents and others who held the highest ranks of office. Everyday, as we grab our money and hand it to whomever, we’re accompanied by the countenances of those who founded our nation and developed our Constitution. Our very society and its financial fabric rests on the stability of our currency system. However, that Constitution has evolved amendment after amendment, and it would be inaccurate to represent American society by solely its foundations. The overall adaptability to a diversity of American voices that guided crucial movements in history such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Rights Movement should be honored as well.
Acknowledging that we all probably have different interpretations of the importance of currency in our society, we can look at other aspects of currency for inspiration regarding what to feature, including mottoes such as “In God We Trust.” The first instance of “In God We Trust” can be traced to Civil War times, when Union currency displayed “In God is Our Trust.” As directed by the Treasury Secretary at the time, this was utilized to inspire Americans to believe that God was on the side of the Union. The phrase we see on all our currency today, “In God We Trust”, was signed into law as the nation’s official motto back in 1955 to discredit the Soviet Union. Florida Rep. Charles Bennett advocated for the bill-to-be-law in Congress back then by stating that, “In these days when imperialistic and materialistic communism seeks to attack and destroy freedom, we should continually look for ways to strengthen the foundations of our freedom.” If such a ubiquitous phrase was engraved to remind of us of the importance of freedom, then a staunch abolitionist like Harriet Tubman would certainly be the epitome of that cherished American ideal.
Mnuchin has also inaccurately refuted the minting of a Harriet Tubman-featuring bill by saying that “People have been on the bills for a long period of time.” While it’s true that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing have not touched major denominations for almost a century, the United States Mint agency has been minting dollar coins for various historical figures in recent years. By including Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea on dollar coins, the agency has already set substantial precedents for honoring influential women in history through currency.
But, in the end, it doesn’t even need to come down to choosing between Andrew Jackson and Harriet Tubman. Despite his negative past, Andrew Jackson and his accomplishments during the War of 1812 shouldn’t be forgotten. In fact, former Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew of the Obama administration opted to keep Andrew Jackson on the reverse side with the White House while Harriet Tubman featured on the front side. In addition, we can’t overlook that there are other equally deserving candidates. “Women on 20s”, the original campaign that proposed to include Harriet Tubman on our currency, included an election with other candidates such as Rosa Parks and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Including Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill should serve to rightly immortalize Tubman’s instrumental contributions to American democracy as well as set an example for the depiction of other historical figures on major denominations.