The Debasing of Our Civic Currency

Putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 concludes a long, concerted drive to reimage U.S. currency. More to the point, it illustrates a profound, probably permanent shift in American historiography.

Tubman joins the historical pantheon of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, and Ben Franklin. Going forward Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Susan B. Anthony will decorate the back of the $10. The New York Times calls the changes the “most sweeping and historically symbolic makeover of American currency in a century.”

OK, no problem, we say, and maybe a good thing. Tubman on the $20 had become a political inevitability, and it’s not hard to understand her appeal. An escaped slave active in the Underground Railroad, Tubman is an inspiring historical cameo.

Tubman arguably embodies America’s expansion of civil rights principles. She comes infused with American ideals of freedom, fortitude, and determination. Some conservatives claim her as their own. She provides role models for African-American youth, it is said. She brings Oprah Winfrey joy. Yes. Yes to all of that.

Harriet Tubman is an exceedingly minor figure in American history. If I have heard the name “Harriet Tubman” spoken more than 2 or 3 times during my 60-year lifetime (before the $20 bill discussion), I would be surprised.

The fact is there are only two reasons why Harriet Tubman has been picked to be featured on one of our most important currency bills:

1. She’s black.

2. She’s a woman.

I actually wouldn’t have a problem with putting Indians back on a lot of our currency, as was done once upon a time. But I guess that somehow that will be considered racist.

I would go a lot further than the current proposals.

First off, each paper denomination should be a different color, much the way Canada does it. Here's an example.

America is much more than our dead presidents, and I've always been suspicious of the progressive worship of the imperial presidency. So let's set up some ground rules.

Rule #1: Each denomination shall be dedicated to an individual in one specific category of American life.

Rule #2: Each individual on a bill shall appear for no more than ten years before he/she is replaced.

Rule #3: Each individual on a bill shall have been dead for at least 50 years to determine that person's place in history.

So let's set up our new and improved currency.

$100 bill: This bill will be dedicated to American military prowess. Ulysses Grant has been on a bill for a long time, so George Patton would be a good choice for ten years.

$50 bill: This bill will be dedicated to American letters. Mark Twain would be a non-controversial first choice.

$20 bill: This bill will be dedicated to American women/minorities. If we're going to put Tubman on the bill, let's show her as a guerilla fighter wielding a gun.

$10 bill: This bill will be dedicated to American arts and music. George Gershwin would be a no-brainer.

$5 bill: This bill will be dedicated to American science. We've had Franklin on a bill for a long time, so Thomas Edison would be a good choice for ten years.

For lower denominations, I'd like to follow the example of Canada and use coins for $1 and $2. I could live with "Sacajawea" because no one knows what she really looked like, and before we started putting presidents on coins in 1909, we always used female or Indian depictions of Liberty. The "Sacajawea" image fits both standards. I also have my own ideas about replacing dead presidents on our coins, but I'll save that for another time.

I actually wouldn’t have a problem with putting Indians back on a lot of our currency, as was done once upon a time.

One cool dude:

Note also that the bill stated that there was deposited in the Treasury of the United States, Five Silver Dollars, payable on demand to the bearer. In effect, you had a warehouse receipt for REAL money and not the Federal IOUs of today.

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