(foxnews) - The Treasury Department plans to announce Wednesday that the new $20 bill will feature abolitionist Harriet Tubman, replacing former President Andrew Jackson.
A Treasury official confirmed the planned announcement to Fox Business Network. It would make Tubman the first woman on U.S. paper currency in 100 years.
Politico also reported that Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the $10 bill, and other design changes are also being rolled out.
The expected announcement from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew follows a heated debate ever since he said last summer the government planned to incorporate a woman on the $10 bill.
Lew's initial announcement set off a firestorm of protests from supporters of Hamilton, the first Treasury secretary. They argued that the founding father had molded the nation's financial architecture and should not be removed from his rightful place on the currency.
Hamilton fans got a boost from the interest generated by the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton." Earlier this year, Lew was personally lobbied by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the author and star of "Hamilton," during a meeting at Treasury.
Treasury all together received more than 1.5 million responses to Lew's request for suggestions on the currency redesign. That prompted him to delay an announcement, which he had originally said would be made by the end of 2015.
An online group, Women on 20s, had been campaigning for a woman on the $20 bill. Jackson's critics say he should not be on U.S. currency because of the part he played in the relocation of Native Americans.
Still, the change is likely to inflame lawmakers from Tennessee, which Jackson represented in Congress before becoming president. The state also generally claims the former president was born in an area that is now part of Tennessee.
In a poll conducted last year by Women on 20s, Tubman, an African-American abolitionist and one of the leaders' of the Underground Railroad, was the top vote getter.
No comments:
Post a Comment