Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States of America, has rested comfortably on the twenty dollar bill ever since his face was chosen to replace Grover Cleveland in 1928. However, the campaign Womenon20s wants to change this. The Department of the Treasury finally came out and said they planned to put a woman on the $20 dollar bill, this idea gained nation attention. There are two, large catches to their promise, the treasury is not planning to replace Jackson, but Hamilton, the face on the ten dollar bill.
Not only this, but Hamilton will not be gone completely. He will share the bill with a woman, meaning that in reality, a woman will not have a bill all to herself. Though many see this as a victory, it is only a partial step in the right direction. With the Treasury’s attention and the backing of millions, it’s time to reexamine Jackson’s inclusion on our currency and make the case for an appropriate replacement.
The following are 7 reasons why Andrew Jackson should be removed from the 20 dollar bill, and replaced with a woman.
1. Andrew Jackson hated paper money. As president, Andrew Jackson refused to acknowledge paper money as a real form of currency, and instead favored gold and silver. So, does it really make sense to put his face all over our money today?
2. No one has any idea why he’s on the 20. That’s right. Not even the treasury knows why he was chosen all those years ago to replace Cleveland. With no compelling, historical reason to keep him on, it seems very easy to take him off.
3. Andrew Jackson dismantled the Second Bank of the United States, meaning his stance on economics wasn’t exactly sound. This caused the Panic of 1837, a devastating depression in our nation’s history. Who would we rather keep on a bill? Hamilton, who started our nation’s economy, or Jackson, who almost destroyed it.
4. Andrew Jackson was not only a slave owner but an advocate for the expansion of slavery to the western United States. The message it would send by replacing Jackson with a woman like Harriet Tubman would be extremely powerful.
5. Andrew Jackson was responsible for the “Indian Removal Act”. Passed by Jackson in 1830, this act led to thousands of Native Americans to be forced off their land. It is a continuing show of disrespect to keep Jackson on our currency when he so callously mistreated the Native population.
6. Andrew Jackson didn’t acknowledge the rights of Native Americans. When the Cherokee tribe was being threatened by the state of George to leave their land, they sued the state in the supreme court case of “Worcester v Georgia”. They won their rights as a sovereign nation, meaning neither Georgia or the United States had the right to enforce laws over them. With the introduction of the “Indian Removal Act”, Jackson completely ignored this ruling. His blatant disrespect of the Cherokee Nation underscores the inappropriateness of his presence on our currency in a modern, more enlightened era.
7. Andrew Jackson literally committed a genocide. 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 tribe’s citizens. Keeping a man who committed such a crime on our currency is inexcusable.
With the momentum the campaign Womenon20s has gained, it’s important not to let the decision of the Treasury slow us down. By replacing Andrew Jackson with a woman, we send a strong message, far stronger than the one replacing Hamilton would send.
To be placed on an America bill is a great honor, one to be bestowed on those who changed our nation for the better. By replacing Andrew Jackson with a woman, it shows the progress the United States has made towards becoming a more civilized and equal nation. While Andrew Jackson represents our past, women like Susan B. Antony and Harriet Tubman pointed the way towards our future, one of growing equality and the civil rights every citizen of this nation deserves
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