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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-10-bill-will-feature-a-woman-treasury-department-announces/
USA - $10. BILL IN 2020 WILL FEATURE PHOTO OF A WOMAN, TREASURY DEPT ANNOUNCES
By CBS NEWS - June 17, 2015
Last year in
a Kansas City speech, President Obama said he received a letter from a young
girl asking why there were no women on American currency. "And then she
gave me like a long list of possible women to put on our dollar bills and
quarters and stuff, which I thought was a pretty good idea," the
president said.
Now, the
Obama administration is following through on that idea. The Treasury Department
has announced that it's redesigning the $10 bill to feature a woman.
Breaking the paper ceiling: A woman on the $10 bill
"Our
democracy is a work in progress. We've always been committed to a more perfect
union," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told reporters Wednesday. "This
decision to put a woman on the $10 reflects our aspirations for the future, as
much as it is a reflection of the past."
The
department has yet to determine which woman will be featured on the bill,
though Lew said he will pick "a woman who has played a major role in our
history who represents the theme of democracy." Additionally, the law
dictates that currency cannot feature a living person.
The treasury
secretary is ultimately responsible for currency design, but in keeping with
the theme of democracy and inclusiveness, the department has decided to invite
the public to weigh in. Specifically, the department is inviting people to
share ideas, symbols and designs that reflect what democracy means to them.
Ideas can be shared on social media with the hashtag #TheNew10 or on the
website thenew10.treasury.gov.
The current
$10 bill features a picture of Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Treasury
Secretary. While the new note will feature a woman, Lew said Hamilton won't be
completely replaced. That could mean the new design will feature a picture of
Hamilton and a woman (or women), or Hamilton will be featured on just some of
the new $10 notes.
Lew added
that it was very important to him to ensure that "we continue to honor
Alexander Hamilton who played such an important role... in the foundation of
our democracy as we know it."
The final
design will be announced later this year, though the new $10 note won't go into
circulation until 2020 -- the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th
Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Inside the effort
to put a woman on $20 bill
The idea to
feature a woman on U.S. paper currency gained significant traction this year,
thanks to a grassroots campaign called
Women on 20s. The campaign conducted an online poll to determine which woman
should replace former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 note -- the winner
was abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
However, Lew
said the timing of the Treasury Department's announcement was unrelated to the
grassroots campaign, calling it a "happy coincidence."
He added
that the grassroots effort "reflects the best tradition of American
democracy." Similarly, he said, "It is in the spirit of, I think, the
important expression of public interest that we're reaching out [for public
input] in a way that's different. The last time currency was designed, you
didn't have the ability to ask people to log on and sign into social media to
share their views."
The $10
bill's redesign has, in fact, been in the works since 2013. The department
chose the $10 note for redesign based on a number of factors, including
guidance from the Advanced Counterfeit Deterrence (ACD) Steering Committee. The
primary reason for redesigning currency has to do with counterfeiting threats,
so the new note will feature state-of-the-art security and composition
features. It will also feature a tactile element for the visually impaired.
While the
new bill's release will coincide with the anniversary of the 19th Amendment's
passage, Lew also noted that designing a bill with the latest security features
takes several years. "It's not just a printing job," he said.
The next
step in the redesign process is to hear from the public. Along with their
online campaign, Lew and other Treasury officials will be conducting
roundtables, town halls and other meetings around the country over the summer.
The new $10 note won't be the first time a woman has been featured on paper currency. In the 19th century, Martha Washington was featured on a dollar certificate. Additionally, Pocahontas was part of a group photo featured on the $20 note from 1865 to 1869.