Last Wednesday, the Department of Treasury unveiled plans to issue the new $10 in 2020 with a woman in place of its current face, Alexander Hamilton. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was proud to announce the change, which would take effect one century after the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. Popular suggestions for the new face of the $10 bill include Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Eleanor Roosevelt; if not for the fact that dollar bills cannot feature living individuals, Beyoncé would be an obvious candidate.
Though women such as Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea have appeared on dollar coins, this marks the first time since the 19th century that a woman will appear on a dollar bill. However, this change is not without controversy. In a blog post, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke praised Hamilton’s “contributions to achieving American independence” and disagreed with his removal. Even before Lew’s announcement, there were campaigns, namely Women On 20s, that aimed to put women on the $20 bill in place of Andrew Jackson, whose presidential policies led to the deaths of thousands of Native Americans and opposed central banking systems.
