I was watching the news tonight and there was a story about the movement to put a woman on the US currency.
YES! It's about time. All the bills feature dead white guys.
A Campaign to Put A Woman on the Twenty Dollar Bill explains the idea and the possible candidates.
I personally feel Andrew Jackson should never have been put on a bill. As the New Yorker article explains: "Jackson had strongly opposed the notion of central banking. Plus, he sought—and signed—the Indian Removal Act, which led to the expulsion of Native Americans from their homes."
The Indian Removal Act, resulted in 2-6,000 Native Americans dying on the Trail of Tears. As far as I'm concerned that was genocide.
Of course, I have information that some of those folks removed were my ancestors.
So to me, it's personal.
I say the perfect candidate for the $20 bill is Eleanor Roosevelt. From Wikipedia:
She was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column, and speak at a national convention. On a few occasions, she publicly disagreed with her husband's policies. She launched an experimental community at Arthurdale, West Virginia, for the families of unemployed miners, later widely regarded as a failure. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees.
Following her husband's death, Eleanor remained active in politics for the rest of her life. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations and became one of its first delegates. She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Later she chaired the John F. Kennedy administration's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. By the time of her death, she was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world" and "the object of almost universal respect".
