Replacing Andrew Jackson on $20 draws mixed reviews

Replacing Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill with Underground Railroad icon Harriet Tubman is drawing mixed reviews in the seventh president’s home state of Tennessee.

Some Tennesseans and historians are concerned the country is attempting to curtain off a portion of its more turbulent history, while others argue Tubman’s face on the currency will mark a new kind of inclusivity that is long overdue.

The Treasury Department made the announcement Wednesday, saying that in replacing Jackson on the front of the $20 bill it abandoned a previous plan to have a woman replace founding father Alexander Hamilton on the $10.

Both Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Andrew Jackson Foundation President Howard Kittell said Wednesday that they do not believe Jackson should be booted off the front of the $20 bill at the expense of honoring Tubman.

“United States history is not Andrew Jackson versus Harriet Tubman,” Alexander said in a statement.

“It is Andrew Jackson and Harriet Tubman, both heroes of a nation’s work in progress toward great goals,” Alexander said. “It is unnecessary to diminish Jackson in order to honor Tubman. Jackson was the first common man to be elected president. He fought to save the Union. He defined an American era. He helped found the Democratic Party.”

While Tubman, as both a woman and person of color, stands in stark contrast to the aspects of Jackson’s character critics often highlight, particularly his reputation as a slave owner and his role in the Indian Removal Act, Kittell said Jackson’s life as a character study is not meant to be representative of the ideals of today, rather a glimpse into the nation’s expansion and the figures who set that course into motion.

“There are people who talk about that period of American history as America’s adolescence,” Kittell said. “We all know what we were like as adolescents. We are just trying to figure the whole thing out. (Jackson’s time) was a period of tremendous change in our country, and Jackson was sort of the figure that helped hold it together.”

Others disagree and find that the time for only honoring figures such as Jackson has passed.

Ludye Wallace, president of the Nashville branch of the NAACP, said he believes the news of Tubman on the $20 bill is a reflection that the country has grown and that it is a sign of positive change.

“Even though we have all of these issues and problems facing America, this is a good sign,” he said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. As a matter of fact, there should be more persons of color on our currency. I don’t think they have to be all in a particular color. It’s not really taking anything away from Jackson, it’s just a new time.”

Anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman to replace Jackson on $20 bill

At The Hermitage, Jackson’s home in Nashville, several people learned the news as they walked through the exhibits. Many found the announcement disturbing while others were ambivalent as to whose face appears on the money that is used.

“I just don’t like that they are trying to rewrite history,” said Carmen McNab, a Nashville-area tour guide. “If you don’t know where you come from and you don’t learn from the lessons of the past, how can you prepare for the future?”

Steve Bond, of Pennsylvania, was more skeptical than anything else.

“Really?” he said after he learned the news. “Honestly, in my opinion the fact that they are making a big deal out of this makes me wonder what else is going on at the treasury. What is the real issue?"

Kittell said news of a possible change came last spring, but that he and others at the Andrew Jackson Foundation thought a possible rotation of different faces on some $20 bills might be the decision. He said he was shocked to hear the news of the replacement Wednesday morning.

To make room for Tubman on the front of the $20 bill, Jackson will be moved to the back where he'll be incorporated into the existing image of the White House. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said that image could depict the statue of Jackson riding horseback in Lafayette Square across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House.

USA Today contributed to this report.

Reporter Jordan Buie can be reached at 615-726-5970 and Twitter @jordanbuie.