Harriet Tubman Is New Face of the $20

The conversation on who the first woman to appear on American currency should be (Martha Washington appeared on the $1 way back when) came down to Harriet Tubman — the abolitionist and ex-slave who saved countless black lives with the Underground Railroad. She was poised to be placed on the $10 bill — becoming the first black person overall and the first woman in centuries to be placed on American currency. One hiccup presented itself, however — the guy on the $10 bill was Alexander Hamilton who, due to the recent popularity of Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical we were NOT ready to part with. So people put their heads together and decided on an even better place to put Harriet Tubman — replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

Now, this is exciting. For one, I feel like the $20 bill is a much more commonly use denomination of money given its popularity among ATM users (like little old me), but also — what was Andrew Jackson doing on our money so long, anyway? His big claim to fame was the Indian Removal Act, a genocidal stain on America’s history, so yeah — let’s get him off our money. It is unsure when Harriet Tubman will take her place on the $20 bill, but we are looking forward to it.

The $5, $10 and $20 bills will all also feature various, smaller ways to honor women in history.

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