The 20 dollar bill has come under scrutiny in recent years due to the figure on the bill – Andrew Jackson. His presidency has been viewed as one of the most widely successful in American history. Jackson’s supporters would argue that during his time in office, America’s borders greatly expanded, the common folk were spoken and fought for, and a Civil War was delayed by 30 years. Jackson’s critics and opponents, however, contend that his achievements came at a cost for those he pushed aside to succeed. The Jackson administration’s policies and attitudes, most notably towards Native Americans, as can be seen in Jackson’s Speech to Congress on Indian Removal, indicate there was little regard throughout the administration to the way of Native life and people. On multiple occasions, Jackson referred to Native Americans as an uncivilized, uninteresting savage of a people. It was because of his widely popular Indian Removal Act of May 28, 1830, that an estimated 9,000 Indians died of disease or exposure on their journey to the promised land. The controversy surrounding Andrew Jackson and his presidency are what make him unfit to reside on our currency, much less our 20 dollar bill. A candidate to replace Jackson that profoundly represents American values and principles would be Susan B. Anthony. Throughout her lifetime, she fought to end slavery, was an advocate for equal rights, and a supporter of the women’s suffrage movement.
Susan Brownell Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 to a Quaker family in Adams, Massachusetts, one that was politically active for the whole of her childhood. She had six siblings, many of whom grew up to be poilitical and civil rights activists as well. Her family instilled within her a sense of fairness of what the world should look like (Britannica) that she carried throughout the rest of her life. When the Civil War approached, Anthony spent more of her time and energy into working for and with abolitionists to end slavery once and for all. She was frequently speaking to large, hostile crowds as an agent of the AASS, the American Anti-Slavery Society, a group she was a part of from 1856 to the start of the Civil War. Susan B. Anthony along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, organized petitions for the freedom of slaves and garnered thousands of signatures in the process (Winning the Vote).
Among Anthony’s patronage of the abolitionist movement, she championed equal rights for all, not just for women as is commonly believed. The rights of minority groups, labor, and the pay gap were
Later in Anthony’s life, she realized that if women ever wanted to be taken seriously in politics, they had to have the ability to vote.
Susan B. Anthony never tired, fighting for what she believed in, no matter the personal cost. She was a true American hero who truly represented what it means to fight for our rights- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. and that is why she deserves to replace Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill.
