$10 bill facelift raises questions

By: Julia Hall – Staff Writer

Pull a $10 bill out of your wallet and the face of Alexander Hamilton will return your gaze. But in 2020, a new set of eyes will be looking back.

According to CNN, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew announced last month that the new version of the $10 bill will feature a woman. This tender will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which extended the right to vote to women.

“America’s currency is one of the most visible means we have for commemorating our nation’s greatest leaders,” Ohio Rep. Sherrod Brown stated in a press release, “and it’s about time that a woman receives this honor.”

University of Dayton College Democrats President Zachary Zugelder concurred, “I am so happy to be alive to see women achieve this.”

Elaine Laux, president of the UD College Republicans, called the decision “an incredible leap forward for our country.”

Laux’s excitement, along with others from UD’s campus to Washington, regarding the new bill wilted with the choice of the $10.

“Why are we keeping Jackson but losing Hamilton? Hamilton was a principal architect of the America we know today,” Laux said. “Jackson, on the other hand, committed genocide against the Native Americans and shut down our national bank.”

“Alexander Hamilton is the perfect person to remain on the currency because of his strong ties to the bank,” Zugelder agreed. “I question the treasury’s decision there.”

Back in early June, according to The New York Times, New Hampshire’s Rep. Jeanne Shaheen suggested legislation to put a woman on the $20 bill.

After the $10 bill announcement, the representative responded, “While it might not be the $20 bill, make no mistake: This is a historic announcement.”

As Laux put it, “I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

Only four women in U.S. history have ever been featured on U.S. currency: Martha Washington, Sacagawea, Pocahontas and Susan B. Anthony. This celebration of women’s rights will be a tangible representation of the role of women in this country’s history.

Secretary Lew explained to USA Today that the main reason for changing the currency was for security purposes, and the next bill set to change was the $10.

However, CNN reported that Lew is turning to citizens for guidance in his decision. The public has a chance to become active participants in the process by posting on Facebook and Twitter suggestions of women with “#TheNewTen.”

A few guidelines have been mentioned: The woman is expected to have made a significant impact on U.S. history and society and should be deceased.

A decision is expected from the Department of the Treasury this fall. Only time will tell whose face will line our pockets.