New Push in Congress to Put Harriet Tubman on $20 Bill

An abolitionist and true patriot who sacrificed so much for the betterment of our nation, Harriet Tubman is nothing short of an American icon.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who introduced a bill in Congress this week to replace President Andrew Jackson with abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

What To Know: Monday marked Harriet Tubman Day, and in Congress, lawmakers filed a bill to put the abolitionist who led people to freedom on the Underground Railroad on U.S. currency. The bill, if passed, would put Tubman’s face on all $20 bills beginning around 2031. The path to the bill becoming law remains uncertain, however, as previous efforts to put Tubman on currency have stalled. (According to Sen. Shaheen, she first introduced this legislation 10 years ago.)

• If passed, Tubman would replace Pres. Andrew Jackson, who served as the country’s seventh president and who owned slaves.
• Tubman’s great-great-great-grandniece, Ernestine “Tina” Martin Wyatt, said the decision to put Tubman on the $20 bill would mean “freedom,” adding, “That’s what was on her mind all the time. Freedom, inclusiveness, justice and equality. That’s what democracy is.” (NPR)
• Harriet Tubman, married to John Tubman, escaped slavery and fled to Philadelphia in 1849. Using the North Star to travel by night, she served as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, risking her life to free more than 70 slaves. She also worked as a nurse and Union spy during the Civil War.

Read More: On Harriet Tubman Day, a new effort to place the abolitionist on the $20 bill launches (NPR)

Image Credit: Library of Congress