Lincoln or Jackson imho
Both Presidents. Jackson and Franklin were not. So is the criteria "Founding Fathers Only"? If so, there are better candidates than Hamilton. Honestly, if he had died of a fever rather than a duel and he wasn't on the $10 bill I'm not sure most Americans would have even heard of him. I mean, how many know who Edmund Randolph was? Or Henry Knox? With resumes every bit as illustrious as Hamilton's, why aren't they on any bills?
Not suggesting Randolph or Knox should be on any bill. Just asking what makes Hamilton so special as compared to, say, John Adams who isn't on a bill at all?
I’m reminded of a habit that my dad taught me. He learned it from his father, who learned it from his father. My dad never has a $20 bill. He refuses to accept or carry one. I’ve included the habit in my dealings.
My great, great granddad was “relocated” from North Carolina to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) with five civilized tribes. They were civilized because they were not warring, and they had their own written languages. It involved President Jackson forcing tens of thousands of Indians (yes, they weren’t proud to be referred to as native Americans) to travel by foot from the east coast to a location some 1500-2000 miles away. Pregnancy, illness, infirmity caused many to die on the journey.
My dad tells me the story is that any one with this pedigree refused to accept a $20 bill - they would request two tens, or four fives. It was a great dishonor to have a drawing of Andrew Jackson since he had brought much misery to many people. Oh, Jackson caused the relocation for what we would call eminent domain today.
Personally if our currency needs to have a different face than what exists now, I would replace Jackson instead of Hamilton. But, I don’t see the need to tinker with any change. Since inflation has destroyed the value of a dollar, perhaps we can issue a new denomination. But coins have a longer life than paper currency.
Gwjack