What to Know About MLK Jr.'s Mom Alberta King, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. We have been putting dead white statesmen on our coins for so long that its been unquestioned for some time now, says a Jackson scholar. What we can learn from Chernobyl's strays. Previously, the plan had been for a woman to share the $10 with Alexander Hamilton. Anti-slavery crusader Harriet Tubman is seen in a picture from the Library of Congress taken by photographer H.B. There is no doubt that President Jackson promoted inclusivity to the wider public for the politics of the United States during . 5 Reasons We Should Kick Andrew Jackson Off the $20 Bill But American money, and our national romance with it, is the root of so many of our national evils. And let's have fun doing it. The Biden Administration announced its plan to return to an Obama-era initiative to put Harriet Tubmans face on the U.S. $20 bill. , No Comment, July 26, 2022 Jackson explained: It is easy to conceive that great evils might flow from such a concentration of power in the hands of a few men irresponsible to the people. In that context, Feller said, "who deserves more to be on American currency?" Why is Andrew Jackson--a staunch opponent of paper money--featured on the $20 bill? A 2015 report placed single Black womens median net wealth at $200; it placed Black mens median wealth at $300. First, Jackson was the first commoner to become president after a string of six aristocrats in the White House. How Is Sports Betting Legislation Increasing Female Bettors? And we know that Black women are disproportionately represented as essential workers. Driving the news: "We have a history and there are dark chapters, and we shouldn't . Although some modern critics complain that Jackson should be dishonored because he was a slaveholder, historian H.W. Cookie Policy The security strip in a twenty-dollar bill glows green under a blacklight . In Arthur M. Schlesinger's New-Deal era biography of Jackson, Feller said, the Trail of Tears was barely mentioned. 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. Andrew Jackson is a former U.S. President featured on the 20-dollar bill. We thought we knew turtles. On the reverse is an image of the White House. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Please rate this article: Similarities between fascism and communism, Similarities Between X Chromosome and Y Chromosome, Similarities Between Natural and Social Sciences, Similarities Between Catholic and Christian. "It is to be regretted," he said, "that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes.". She escaped when she was around 27 years old, and shereturned to Maryland about 13 times to rescue as many as 70 enslaved people through the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes and safe houses organized by Black and white abolitionists. As Andrew Jackson Fades, a Look at How He Ended Up on Money He should not be on the 20 dollar bill because of the horrible Acts that he has done, like the Indian Removal Act and the Implemented Spoils System. Americans never worshiped Alexander Hamilton like they worshiped Jackson. If that principle is worth upholding, Andrew Jackson is worth remembering. Few people would quarrel with the Treasury's decision Thursday to honor a distinguished woman with a spot on one of the most commonly used bills of America's currency. He should not be on the 20 dollar bill because of the horrible Acts that he has done, like the Indian Removal Act and the Implemented Spoils System. She also worked as, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. [White House brings back Andrew Jacksons Big Block of Cheese Day with virtual open house]. 1. Nearly 200 years after his death,Andrew Jackson is stepping away from the United States' cultural consciousness. A congressional staffer departs holding a visual aid following a news conference regarding the redesigned $20 bill meant to honor Harriet Tubman, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2019. Continue with Recommended Cookies, July 21, 2012 Watch on. 2022 U.S. Midterms Dispatch 4: Important Elections in The South, and An Uphill Battle for Progressives. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. During the Civil War, Tubman also worked for the Union Army as "a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse," according to the National Women's History Museum, making her one of the first Black women to serve in the military. On the heels of Kamala Harris historic ascension to the Vice-Presidency, questions about the politics of representation figure heavily in our political discussions and calculations. Who would we rather keep on a bill? Keeping a man who committed such a crime on our currency is inexcusable. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who like . Since this history has violently reinserted itself, demanding our attention, and if we are wise, our reckoning with a racist past that is never quite past, then we should note, that Black peoples faces have, in fact, been on our national currency before. In 1928, the green busts got reshuffled. Putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill Is Not a Sign of Progress. "The constant reminder of Andrew Jackson being glorified is sad and sickening to our people." Tubman on $20 bills shows connection between money, slavery Making the change on currency is. His difficult personality has been notoriously hard for his biographers to capture. Jackson's warning to the Carolina nullifiers of the dangers of political extremism makes riveting reading today. Hamilton, who had been the face of the $1000, got a downgrade to the $10, where he's been since. Why the U.S. government needs to remove Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill