What Our Currency Says About Us

With the $10 bill set for a redesign, the Treasury Department is emphasizing what our money says about our society. Follow Sebastian Martinez: http://www.twitter.com/sebastiansings See more at http://www.newsy.com Transcript: "U.S. currency and the images of great leaders and landmarks that our notes depict has long been a way for us to honor our past, express our values and capture the prevailing sentiment of the time," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Wednesday. When he announced the $10 bill would be featuring a woman's portrait, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew emphasized that our currency says something about our contemporary society. (Video via U.S. Department of the Treasury) But most of the figures currently featured on our major bills have been there for more than 100 years, and not all of them have necessarily held up to public scrutiny. The most controversial of them, Andrew Jackson, has been on the $20 bill — through multiple enumerations since 1928 — and historians' perception of his presidency has changed a lot since then. (Video via History Channel) While earlier historians viewed him as a symbol of American democracy, more recently he's been condemned for his role in orchestrating the Trail of Tears. Jackson pushed through the Indian Removal Act, which led to the deaths of thousands of Native Americans as tens of thousands were removed from their land. (Video via National Parks Service) That all makes the recent campaign to replace Jackson with a woman pretty unsurprising and the decision to remove Alexander Hamilton — an abolitionist and author of the landmark Federalist Papers — more perplexing. Ulysses S. Grant on the $5 bill was dogged by corruption scandals, and the legacies of both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on the $1 and $2 bills were tainted by slavery. And while it's unlikely Washington will be removed from the $1 bill anytime soon, if the treasury wants to reflect a broader swath of American society beyond presidents and leaders, there are plenty of precedents abroad. In European countries, artists, scientists and writers commonly feature on banknotes, with the exception of the Euro, which features relatively uncontroversial architecture. (Video via Bank of England, European Central Bank) While South Africa's banknotes unsurprisingly feature Nelson Mandela on one side, the other is dedicated to the country's big five animals. Belarus for a time had a similar zoological theme to its currency, featuring squirrels and rabbits, among others. But there's one possible reason it's taken so long to change the faces on American banknotes, as currency historian Mark Tomasko told The New Yorker, "The choices of people on those bills, at this point, is more a tradition than it is a matter of consciously choosing these individuals." (Video via Voice of America) Still the Treasury Secretary has asked for public input on the changing $10 bill, which could open the door to changing other notes. While squirrels still seem like a long shot, more women might not be. Sources: U.S. Department of the Treasury http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFrc25f_mUc History Channel http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/andrew-jackson/videos/jackson-and-the-20-bill The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/03/06/why-is-andrew-jackson-on-the-20-bill-the-answer-may-be-lost-to-history/ National Parks Service http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LSkfmCj8Jg The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/age-jackson/essays/andrew-jackson%E2%80%99s-shifting-legacy Getty Images http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-new-design-for-the-twenty-dollar-bill-is-held-by-a-man-news-photo/2575070 Getty Images http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-uncut-sheet-of-the-redesigned-10-bill-is-seen-after-a-news-photo/56979562 Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:50_USD_Series_2004_Note_Front.jpg Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_one-dollar_bill#/media/File:Onedolar2009series.jpg Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_$2_obverse-high.jpg Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/leadenhall/3116944371/in/photolist-5Kr9Yc-ciyQW-rdk9jK-qcL9ak-am4CB7-4QtUSn-9nAA5K-8KwDfP-8KzGfS-5dpbgV-9Gn4pW-b9bvUe-81FSn6-axfuEw-ciyQX-5dtwny-5dtw4C-5dtwrj-5dtvZy-5dpbEX-5dpbmi-5dtwch-aBnPCh-4oxMc7-4rRWn-o4Hxj5-aRmvh-o4Hhb1-ombmdG-okVDue-onY6dK-onY3Wk-omd7EP-o4Hsyz-ojbcG9-ombnN5-onY6Ai-oU3guj-onY5sr-o4Hz2y-9vMZ2Z-8KzFiS-5bgELv-ojkuEN-og722M-d1S8V-akMsLC-akMtgU-akMtUN-akJEYZ Bank of England http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R11GA7CC9n8 European Central Bank http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77GqqF90Yrc Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belarus-1992-Bill-0.5-Obverse.jpg Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Belarus-1992-Bill-1-Obverse.jpg Image via: Getty Images / Chris Hondros http://gettyimages.com

Comments

1. look at this guy's doing this he don't look like no real American to me he looks like an illegal alien illegal immigrant immigrant it looks like it should be picking strawberries or something
2. this is an outrage to US citizens white men everywhere you know Andrew Jackson was a great hero to the nation he stop the bank of England from taking over this country eventually it would take over now it's called the FED but back then it was called the bank of England now now the Rothschilds completely control American economy and they would have controlled it a hundred years ago a hundred two hundred and fifty years before this and the United States would not have enjoyed the good economic boom and hat from the 18 hundreds to onto the 1990s if one for Andrew Jackson stopping the National Bank of England from taking over coming and National Bank of America Stockton and do you know how do we show our gratitude to this great man this great leader and we taking off the $20 bill and put some woman on it that might have saved maybe a hundred people at most you know that's it that don't compare to the live San Andrew Jackson made better by ensuring the United States was the global economic power from the 18 hundreds to the 19 nineties and it would have never been like that if he had enough to stop the bank of England in their tracks and with the economy will be like it is now for all that time because now we have the modern-day Bank of England the Fed but Andrew Jackson put a stop to that if Andrew Jackson would have been alive in 1913 he would have stopped the FED to he would have stopped those traitors at Jekyll Island look that up Jekyll Island 1913 and you might understand something about the real people that rule this country Andrew Jackson was a great hero it's just more an e-mail Andy White propaganda it's already is white men built this country and we maintain it to this day if all white men would disappear this country would collapse and pay it a year or less
3. I want one to have a woman, a Native American, and a musician.
4. Bugs bunny
5. Bugs bunny