A Bold Move

On Wednesday April 20^th 2016 Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced a makeover that plans on making a bold historically symbolic statement. In a letter to the American people which can be found on the U.S. Department of Treasury website, Jacob J. Lew announces his plans for the new $20, $10 and $5 notes. He proposes that the portrait of Harriet Tubman will be featured on the front of the new $20. In his letter he states that “The decision to put Harriet Tubman on the new $20 was driven by thousands of responses we receieved from Americans young and old.” Such a big step is being taken a century later in our government and I couldn’t help but wonder does having Harriet Tumban on a bill make a big difference?

After putting a good amount of thought and reminding myself all the good Tubman has done I realized it makes a big difference. Historically, countries have used their currency to make sure everyone is aware of who’s important and who’s in charge. We till this day have seven white men on seven notes representing our diverse and welcoming nation. It seems only fair to make a change and honor women, especially in this time period where we have a woman running for presidency. This only shows that women in general have come a long way fighting for their rights. If the United Kingdom can put its queen on every single bill, incorporating women into our notes only seems like a necessary realignment of our symbols and our professed values. Though, I personally do prefer a modern figure on the note, its makes sense why Harriet Tubman is the chosen one. She is someone who is known by people of all age. Since elementary you are taught about the honorable Harriet Tubman and it’s a name and a person you can never forget after.

Blog Response

I found Alyssa Villalobos post “College Education for Inmates" on her blog "The United States Government 2016" quite interesting because I myself had took on a subject quite similar. I could not agree more when it comes to reshaping an inmate before releasing them into the real world. She did a really well job in laying out the issue the side she chose and the proper statistics and facts to back up her position as to why College education is important for inmates. I personally am a firm believer that the people re entering our world from the prison world should be prepared to re establish their life, they should at least have the option to even if they are bound to get locked up again, the few that want a new start should be able to stand up on their feet again and be intellectually capable to do that. With how fast our technology is expanding and changing imagine being isolated for five years and being introduced to it all at once. It is simply terrifying. What I admired most about this post is how Alyssa backed up her position and constructed a convincing argument.