June 17, 2015 / 11:31 PM / Updated June 18, 2015 at 12:17 AM
So long, Alexander Hamilton; a woman to be main feature on $10 bill
By
Danielle Haynes
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton will be replaced by a woman as the face of the $10 bill, the Treasury Department announced. File photo by YamabikaY/Shutterstock
A statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman in Harlem, N.Y. Tubman won a poll organized by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by stockelements/Shutterstock
Eleanor Roosevelt was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. (UPI Photo/Files) | License Photo
Civil rights activist Rosa Lee Parks was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Ricardo Watson/UPI | License Photo
A statue of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony in the Capitol Building taken on Feb. 26, 2004 in Washington. Anthony and Stanton were among several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPI | License Photo
The Sacagawea dollar coin has been produced by the U.S. Mint off and on since 2000. The Shoshone Indian guide replaced suffragist Susan B. Anthony as the face of the dollar coin. File photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI | License Photo
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., first lady Michelle Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, participate in the unveiling of a bust of abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth in the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington on April 28, 2009. Truth was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Clara Barton, a nurse who tended troops during the U.S. Civil War and founded the American Red Cross, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo courtesy Everett Historical
Margaret Sanger, birth control activist and nurse, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. Photo courtesy
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Rachel Carson, a marine biologist and conservationist, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by catwalker/Shutterstock
Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm addresses the kickoff of the Smithsonian Institution Black History Month at the Museum of American History on February 2, 1987 in Washington. Chisholm was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Vince Mannino/UPI | License Photo
Alice Paul, a suffragist and feminist, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Neftali/Shutterstock
U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, D-Hawaii, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo courtesy U.S. Congress
Frances Perkins, the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by rook76/Shutterstock
Feminist Betty Friedan was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Debra Myrent/UPI | License Photo
Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Texas, a civil rights activist, was one of several women considered by the "Women on 20s" campaign to have a woman put on the $20 bill. File photo by Neftali/Shutterstock
WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- A woman will be featured on U.S. paper currency for the first time in more than a century, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced Wednesday.
Starting in 2020 -- the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote -- a historic female figure will grace the $10 bill.
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Lew announced Alexander Hamilton, the founder of the nation's financial system and first Treasury secretary, will be joined on the bill by a woman who is seen as a "champion for our inclusive democracy," a news release from the department said. The subject of the newly redesigned $10 has yet to be announced.
Lew told reporters it was "personally very important" for him that Hamilton still be included on the bill. This will be accomplished by either including multiple portraits on the bill or by printing more than one version of currency.
"America's currency is a way for our nation to make a statement about who we are and what we stand for," Lew said. "Our paper bills -- and the images of great American leaders and symbols they depict -- have long been a way for us to honor our past and express our values.
"We have only made changes to the faces on our currency a few times since bills were first put into circulation, and I'm proud that the new 10 will be the first bill in more than a century to feature the portrait of a woman."
The subject of the first female historic figure to be featured on paper currency in more than a decade has been the cause for much speculation recently, thanks to the "Women on 20s" campaign.
The petition seeks to have former U.S. President Andrew Jackson replaced on the $20 bill by African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Organizers of the campaign picked Jackson for replacement because of his role in Native American relocation policies and opposition to the central banking system.
A 10-week-long poll was held to choose a prominent woman to be featured on the bill.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the author of the Women on the Twenty Act, praised the Treasury Department's move.
"Today, those voices all across the country calling for the contributions of women to be honored on our paper currency were heard and now change is happening," she said. "This announcement follows a tremendous grassroots movement that spread through the power of social media and good old fashioned word-of-mouth.
"While it might not be the twenty dollar bill, make no mistake, this is a historic announcement and a big step forward. Young girls across this country will soon be able to see an inspiring woman on the ten dollar bill who helped shape our country into what it is today and know that they too can grow up and do something great for their country."
Anthony has already been on a $1 coin, which was later replaced with coin featuring Shoshone Indian guide Sacagawea. The only woman to appear on paper currency in the United States, other than Lady Liberty, was first lady Martha Washington, who was on a $1 silver certificate in 1886 and 1891.
Lew said the Treasury Department is seeking public input on symbols and designs for the new $10 bill. Americans can submit their ideas at thenew10.treasury.gov or by using the hashtag #TheNew10 on social media.
