There should be no argument about Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill

I’ve yet to hear anything resembling a valid argument against it.

Don’t spend the money to design it? Seriously? New designs happen every few years (we just keep the same people).

Only presidents? Like Hamilton and Franklin?

Jackson deserves to stay? Ask the Cherokee.

But, honestly, little of that even matters. Historically, we’ve featured non-presidents often on our paper money and our coinage.

To put it bluntly: if you are opposed to Harriet Tubman being featured on any denomination of American currency or coinage you are out of step with our history. It has only been recently that the front-side images of our paper money have remained static for so long.

Here’s one of my new favorite bills. The $5 Silver Certificate bill featuring Running Antelope (1899):

running antelope $5 bill

Never seen a woman on a bill? Look no further than Martha Washington.

Martha-Washington

There have been dozens of people on American currency: presidents, military men, inventors, explorers, senators, and the like.

What about coins? There have been a ton, widely varied.

Lady Liberty has appeared on numerous coins and in numerous looks. We’ve had boats and buffalo. A Native American Indian has been obverse on the penny, the nickel, and the gold dollar coin. Non-president Ben Franklin on the half-dollar. All kinds of scenes and memorials on the reverse of the quarter. Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea obverse on dollar coins.

The Tubman debate is no debate at all. The announcement should have been met with acclaim from all sides. It is a mystery to me why it was not.

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About Me

Hi, I'm Marty Duren

I’m Marty Duren, a freelance writer, content creator, podcaster, and publisher in Nashville, TN. I guess that makes me an entrepreneur-of-all-trades. Formerly a social media strategist at a larger publisher, comms director at a religious nonprofit, and a pastor, Marty Duren Freelance Writing is the new business iteration of a decade-long side-hustle.

I host the Uncommontary Podcast which publishes weekly. Guests range from academics to authors to theologians to activists on subjects related to history, current events, and the impact of evangelicalism on American life. My voice is deep-fried giving rise to being labeled “a country Batman.” Find Uncommontary in your favorite podcast app.

Missional Press publishes books by Christian writers with the goal of impacting people with the good news of Jesus. 

I’m a longtime blogger at Kingdom in the Midst, where, over the course of many years, I’ve written a lot of words.

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