9 thoughts on “Hamilton Stays”

1. I’m not surprised. I have always felt in these PC correct days Ol’ Hickory was not long for our currency. Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglas would not be surprising to me in the slightest.

   I am pleased that Hamilton was spared.

2. Inevitably some will point to the face on the currency and say we wanted her picture widely circulated because she was wanted for theft and trafficking in stolen property.

   Although not being alive is a requirement for US currency for good reasons, I would have preferred to see Heather Penney on it. She’s one of the F-16 pilots who took off on 9/11 without armaments with the intent to ram any airliners flying toward the capitol, losing her life in the process.

   C-Span Heather Penney interview on the tenth anniversary

   Everyone except Tubman that the feminists nominated was famous for whining and protesting. Whereas Tubman was a human trafficker, Heather Penney was willing to give her life to protect the capitol of the free world. But she’s not dead, so they can’t put her on our currency.

   The British have it so much easier because they can stick Margaret Thatcher and Queen Elizabeth II on their bills.

   1. You don’t know the half of it. In the UK we have eight issuing authorities: the central bank plus the three Scottish and four Northern Irish retail banks, who issue their own promisory notes under licence (the amount they’re allowed to have in circulation being controlled by “The” Bank, based on their reserves). They’re by far the most commonly-used form of currency in those places.

      The retail banks tend to play pretty safe, featuring landmarks or figures from science and literature (here’s a Clydesdale £5 featuring Sir Alexander Fleming for example), but there are often one-off commemorative issues, like stamps. I have in my wallet right now an RBS fiver featuring Jack Nicklaus, issued for his final Open at St. Andrews back in 2005. It’s all rather fun. Nobody ever says, “Why should a golfer be on the money?”, because it isn’t the money.

      Taking politics out of the equation is never a bad idea.

3. Tubman was also an Army scout, and the first woman to lead an assault in the Civil War. As a symbol for our country, a great improvement on Jackson.

   Note that Tubman also did quite a bit of “whining and protesting” (and hunger-striking).

   1. She also got off her duff and actually did things like risk her life (hence the affinity for firearms) rescuing others from slavery, so she earned the right to “whine”. Also, there is a difference between whining (screaming at every “microagression”) and legit protest. A hunger strike in support of abolition or giving women the right to vote is not the same as demanding a “safe space” every time some moron writes “Trump 2016” in chalk on a sidewalk somewhere.

4. The currency change isn’t going to happen till 2020, so what do you bet that if Hillary doesn’t win the White House, it won’t be Tubman?

   If Bernie wins they’ll probably go with Che, with will be fitting because the $20 would soon be worth about as much as a Venezuelan bolivar.

   If Trump wins they’ll keep Jackson and just add some text saying “Accepted at all Trump casinos and hotels. Bring lots!”

5. In related news, the estate of Johnny Cash has announced that his hit song will be renamed “Tubman.”

6. One of Jackson’s most despicable legacies was the near-genocide of the Trail of Tears. I will lose no sleep over Jackson’s disappearance from the $20.

7. [Jackson] believed government was a threat to be contained, that national banks like the one originated by Alexander Hamilton were abominations and threats to freedom, and that the federal government’s role in building infrastructure should be limited.

   For this I’d let pigs in the white house.

   I’m not defending Jackson. Only pointing out that truth has multiple layers.

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