5 things to know about Harriet Tubman appearing on the $20 bill
Big news today: Harriet Tubman would be the new face of the $20 bill come 2020, Politico reports. This decision comes as a result of criticism that the United States Treasury features only white men on their coins and bills and has not acknowledgde the accomplishments of diverse Americans in history. Harriet Tubman will be first woman and the first person of color to appear on paper money (both Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea appear on coins). Here are five fast facts about this historic decision:
1. Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist who escaped slavery and aided in the freedom of hundreds of other slaves through the Underground Railroad in the 1850s.
2. She will be replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill, but he won’t be completely gone. His face is likely to remain on the back of the bill while Harriet Tubman will appear front and center.
3. In summer 2015, people thought the $10 bill would be most likely to get a makeover. But thanks to the popularity of the Broadway show “Hamilton,” the Treasury will keep Alexander Hamilton on the front of the bill, CNN reported, while the back will feature leaders of the women’s suffrage movement.
4. Leaders of the civil rights movement, along with other important moments in American history, will feature on the $5 bill, Politico said.
5. These new bills should be ready by 2020 — just in time for the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage!
People are absolutely loving this news over on social media:
It’s all very exciting and we can’t wait to see what the new $20 will look like — hopefully, something like our Photoshopped version above!
Update, 4/21/15: The New York Times released a full list of the specific changes being made to the $5, $10, and $20 bills, and its got us even more excited. While the $20 will feature Harriet Tubman on the front, the back of $10 bills will feature women’s rights activists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Alice Paul, as well as abolitionist and activist Sojourner Truth. The back of the $5 bills will feature three historical figures: singer Marian Anderson, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. This is such a crucial step forward in giving important and diverse voices the representation they deserve, and we can’t think of more inspiring faces that those who did such unforgettable work for America.
