The nonprofit Women On 20s is campaigning for a woman to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20?bill. United States money features former presidents and founding fathers. Only two women have been featured on coins; Susan B. Anthony is on a rare dollar coin, and Sacagawea is on the gold dollar coin. However,?there are no?women?on any?paper?currency in our country.

womenon20s
Photo courtesy of Women On 20s

Barbara Ortiz Howard founded the nonprofit with the?goal?of having?a woman on the $20 bill by the year 2020. The year 2020 marks the centennial anniversary of the women’s suffrage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.

With support from historians, writers and the staff of National Women’s History Month, Ortiz Howard and the executive director Susan Ades Stone have complied a ballot of 15 women for consideration on the money. Everyone is welcome to vote for three women of choice to replace Jackson on the $20?bill.

Ades stated to Buzzfeed News,

?Our hope is that through this process we expose as many people as possible of all ages and of all political and socioeconomic persuasions to really look at women’s contributions in history.?

Candidates listed include names such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth to name a few. If the petition receives a starting point of 100,000 votes, and after completing two rounds of voting, Women On 20s will send the campaign to the White House for consideration. President Barack Obama has previously stated he supports adding women to currency.

Many have agreed over the years that Jackson should be removed from the bill because of his involvement in the genocide of Native Americans. While Jackson is celebrated for his military action and for creating the Democratic Party, he also played a role in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This act forced the removal of Native American tribes off their land and allowed European settlers to occupy it instead. Also, Jackson was strongly against a central banking system. He favored gold and silver coin or ?hard money? over a paper currency.

Ades states?that approving new currency for printing is ?something that can be done with the stroke of the president’s pen or the treasury secretary’s pen .The beauty of this is it is something that a lot of people think is long overdue that is easily accomplished.?

Is our country ready for a woman on money? This may seem something small, but if granted, it could send a powerful message. Women have always contributed to our history and therefore, should be represented on our money. The only difficulty is deciding which woman played the most important role in history and is the most deserving.

 

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