Which Woman on the Ten Dollar Bill?

When you look at money, you don’t really tend to pay attention to the faces on the bills. You just expect to see one of the many male influences in American history, including some of our most important presidents. Now, in the next few years, you’ll be able to see a woman’s face grace the front of a newly-designed ten dollar bill, in 2020. The only problem is, no one can decide who should be chosen for the spot.

Your thoughts most likely turned to Susan B. Anthony or Harriet Tubman, but the most popular woman so far in a recent poll has been Eleanor Roosevelt, wife to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor was best known and fondly remembered for turning the name of “First Lady” into something more than just a title. She was a major advocate for human rights, and eventually became a chair of the UN’s Human Rights Commission. She played an active role in her husband’s presidency, especially when he fell extremely ill due to polio.

Obviously you’ve heard of Harriet Tubman, and know that she lived in Auburn after the Civil War. It was actually William Seward himself who sold the area of land to her. So naturally, Auburn is hoping to see her face be chosen in the near future. Even though she wasn’t the top choice in the most recent poll, she has been leading the overall polls. You may remember hearing Raven-Symoné state she didn’t want Harriet Tubman to be on the bill, which was surprising to many people. She had actually hoped to see Rosa Parks be on it, instead. When Student Alexis Rivers was asked about Raven-Symoné’s controversial statement, she actually agreed with her, stating: “Rosa Parks could certainly stand to be the figurehead of equality for all people, black, white, gay, lesbian. She forced people to change the game. She helped start the road to equality for all black people, which paved the way for the modern women’s rights movement. I’m not saying Harriet Tubman is a bad choice. None of the possible women are bad choices, but I get what Raven was saying.”

Some controversy has been stirred over one particular candidate for the ten dollar bill, because her last name was “Mankiller”. Wilma Mankiller was the first female leader of the Cherokee tribe, and became a highly-respected Native American activist. She passed away in 2010, but certainly was not forgotten. President Obama said that “she transformed the Nation-to-Nation relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the Federal Government, and served as an inspiration to women in Indian Country and across America.” Her surname, however, has thought to may be a bit strong of a name for the first woman to be portrayed on the dollar note.

Whether you agree with this or not, there have been questions against the symbolism of a woman on the ten dollar bill, some thinking that it wouldn’t do much to assert equality of the sexes. In the most recent GOP debate, the Republican presidential candidates were asked who they’d personally like to see be chosen, and some of them said either their wife’s name, or from Donald Trump, “Ivanka” (his daughter). This clearly indicates that some people have more of a trivial view against the issue, thinking it isn’t as much of a priority than it should be.

When teacher Matt Smith was asked about the subject, he stated that he was “more interested in increasing the value of the bill than changing the face of it.” He reiterated the fact that Alexander Hamilton was the man who shaped America’s monetary system by creating the First National Bank. Some people agree with the idea that he should be kept on the ten dollar bill, as snubbing him would be a bit disrespectful. But, honestly, would you really want to remove George Washington from the one dollar bill, or Abraham Lincoln from the five dollar bill to make room for someone else? Probably not.

The woman who will be chosen for the spot on the ten dollar bill will be chosen in the next few months, and whether you wish to see it happen or not, it will be a great historical gesture to an influential and deserving American woman.