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The United States has been featuring distinguished personalities on its currency notes. Most of the portraits on the dollar bills issued by the US treasury department are those of former presidents. The US currency notes, also accorded the status of national banknotes, have been graced by the portrait of George Washington on the $1 bill.
Other presidents to find their faces on the currency notes are Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Benjamin Franklin, who features on the $100 bill.
Of late, there is a debate over giving new icons space on the currency notes that have discriminated against women candidates for centuries. The first and only woman to have appeared on a federal-issued banknote was Martha Washington, whose portrait was printed on $1 silver certificates issued in 1886 and 1891.
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Former US president Barack Obama had proposed the name of Abolitionist hero Harriet Tubman as the new face of $20 bills. At present, former president Andrew Jackson features on the $20 banknote.
There was a long pending demand to remove Jackson’s portrait from US currency because he supported slavery and dislocated Native Americans before and during his tenure as the US president.
Who Is Harriet Tubman?
Harriet Tubman was a victim of slavery who became an Abolitionist hero with her daring efforts to rescue enslaved people for the underground railroad. She actively sought to abolish the institution of slavery with her actions that saved many enslaved Black people.
She would become the first Black American to grace a dollar bill. Had she been caught freeing enslaved people, she would have faced punishment before being sold again as an enslaved person. Another black woman, Maya Angelou, became the first African-American woman minted on the US 25-cent coin.
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Angelou is a celebrated poet and writer and became a worldwide name with her book, Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical account of her life.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who are the prominent personalities to be found on US bills?
Several distinguished personalities, mostly presidents, have featured on the US bills. Former presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Franklin, and Andrew Jackson have been printed on US dollar bills.
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Has there ever been a woman on US bills?
Martha Washington was the only woman in records to have graced a US currency. Her portrait was printed on $1 silver certificates issued in 1886 and 1891.
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Who is Harriet Tubman?
Harriet Tubman is being touted as the first woman who would grace a dollar bill. Tubman had helped save dozens of enslaved people in the 19th century. She is supposed to replace Andrew Jackson on $20 bills.
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Why is Andrew Jackson’s face from the US dollar being removed?
Andrew Jackson, who served as the president of the US, is being replaced because he supported slavery and dislocated Native Americans.
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When was the last time a new face was printed on US currency?
The last time the US treasury printed a new face on its dollar bills was in 1929. Alexander Hamilton, one of the US founding fathers, appeared on $10 bills.
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