Image courtesy of www.thefrisky.com.
Harriet Tubman is set to grace the front of the $20 bill, replacing and playing opposite to Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. As I read up on each one of their lives, it seemed as if these figures coundn’t be more opposite — one of them freed slaves while the other enforced slavery; one was powerful in law and popularity while the other was powerful beyond what could’ve been seen. Despite all the distinct contrasts and seemingly inappropriate notions that both could appear on the same piece of money, there is an interesting link between these two historical figures that exalts what it means to be human.
Tubman was nominated among other innovative, powerful women to be placed on America’s perhaps most treasured entity, money. Other influential woman who have been pictured on U.S. currency include Pocahontas, the first woman to be featured on the $20 bill from 1865-1869 and more recently, Martha Washington, who was featured on the front of the $1 silver certificate in 1886. Tubman continues to represent the high standard of women visioneers placed on currency as a part of a great campaign to honor the women who spearheaded political activism such as the Suffragist movement and abolition.
However, to see Tubman replace Jackson on the front of the $20 bill is almost a prophetic act. According to www.history.com, Jackson fought Native Americans in the war of 1812, openly supported slavery expansion into the west and received much criticism for his role in “the forced relocation of Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River.” Andrew Jackson represents the disparaging act of seeing something beautiful and taking it, whether it belongs to you or not.
On the other hand, Harriet Tubman represents those who have suffered abuse from that awful mentality and rose above such mistreatment to provide a better tomorrow. Having Tubman and Jackson on the same bill seems ludicrous at first, but if you look closely enough, they did have one thing in common. Both had the same unquenchable thirst to make a difference in a country they loved. Whether it was by oppressing others or fighting for the freedom of an entire civilization, the passion on both ends burned strong.
In general, the concept of having opposing figures on the same bill is exciting. I feel that it represents the fact that at the end of the day, you cannot control people. Some still try to do this through monetary means, but people will do what they want whether you try to stop them or not. There is something deep inside of us that is not satisfied until we are completely free and happy. Whether our thoughts or actions produce this desire or not, we cannot argue that it is the American way.
So for these two figures to be on the same U.S. dollar bill is in a way a balance of what it looks like for people to pursue life, liberty and happiness. It shows that today is a time for those who have been slaves to the system to achieve freedom and the idea that you must take what you want from others by force is an outdated and unlawful way of thinking. May we not forget the past, but may we move on from it.