As a woman, and as a woman interested in politics, there was no better news than the announcement last Wednesday that Harriet Tubman will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Jackson, who was the seventh President of the United States, has a controversial history, with the infamous Trail of Tears and other human rights injustices staining his legacy.
The decision to replace Andrew Jackson did not come easily and the debate to instead replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill came in tandem with the conversation about Jackson's spot on the $20. Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, has the cast of the new Broadway show "Hamilton" to thank in part for his continued spot on the $10 bill. Jackson was not so lucky this time, but why is this such a significant move for the Treasury Department of the United States?
American society has been a patriarchy for the entire history of this country. Just take a look at the breakdowns in Congress if you had any questions about this. Women and minority groups are extremely underrepresented by a government that is supposed to serve all of its citizens equally and justly. But how can a governing body do so, and do so effectively, if there is an institutionalized issue of underrepresented minorities?
This is why I think putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill and women on the backs of currency in the United States is both a necessary and just step toward representation and equality. The history of the United States is marked with the stories of men; typically these men are heterosexual, white, Protestant and land owners. It is far beyond time to start to remember the other parts of history that are not celebrated nearly enough.
Harriet Tubman, who helped hundreds of enslaved African Americans to freedom through the Underground Railroad, should be celebrated for her place in American history. Not only is she a woman of color, but a former slave who was brave enough to escape slavery and then help others to do the same. The real question for me is why we did not make this change for our $20 bill sooner and instead left a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of Native Americans representing our country on one of the most frequently-used bills in circulation today.
Will more women follow in this trend and have their time on the front of American currencies? Only time will tell. This decision came at the same time as the Treasury Department's announcement that women will grace the other side of bills as well.
