Brilio.net/en - Harriet Tubman is joining the ranks of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin, as they become the new faces of the American currency. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced on Wednesday that the woman, an icon of slavery abolition, has been chosen after a year of intense debate.
The administration launched a major opinion poll to find out which woman should be chosen to appear on the bill, as it would the first time in a 100 years. "We have received millions of responses" explained Jack Lew. Among the finalists were Eleanor Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelts wife and Rosa Parks, the famous activist in the fight against the racial segregation.
Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) was a black slave who was freed and went on to fight against slavery and for the rights of the black American community in general. As a leader of the Underground Railroad, she helped hundreds of slaves to run away to Canada before the Civil war and also worked as a cook, a nurse and finally a spy for the army of the Union. She is the symbol of slave liberation.
Harriet Tubman c. 1885 (Image via birminghamtimes)
Her face will replace the portrait of former president Andrew Jackson; who has been represented on the bill since 1928. All the American press pay tribute to this announcement: the good choice according to the Los Angeles Times, an inspired choice for the Wall Street Journal, etc. The democrat presidents face was a bit controversial, in part for his role in the military campaigns that drove thousands of native American Indians off their land.
Harriet Tubmans story represents an important part of the history of the United States that needs to be remembered, according to the Treasury. This choice is also full of meaning in the current context: a woman, a leader and a fighter for freedom. It is also a small progress in the representation of women on bills in general: only 9% of the bills in the world feature women and in 63% of the cases, it is Queen Elizabeth.
(brl/red)
