Martha Washington deserves to grace $20 bill
What goes around comes around and this time it is coming around for Andrew Jackson. Little 9-year-old Sofia from Massachusetts wants to see a woman represented on our currency and it looks like Andrew Jackson has lost his tenure on the $20 bill.
Don’t shed any tears over this removal. Many, many, moons ago, Jackson, initiated the infamous trail of tears in which the peaceful Choctaw and Cherokee nations were tossed off their lands. Covenants between these nations and others going all the way back to George Washington, and bolstered by Thomas Jefferson, were unceremoniously dumped to make way for the fashionable people of the day and their plans.
So where do we go from here? There are numerous women who were instrumental in the founding of our nation who have never been properly recognized for their contributions and there are others who have demonstrated single acts of courage who need to be remembered. Let us consider whose life-time achievements deserve the honor of replacing Jackson.
Historian Page Smith brought to light the genius of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He was able to maintain his equilibrium in the midst of endless frustrations, disappointments, setbacks and defeats. He became the symbol of perseverance, and courage which unified the states. George represented the head of this operation, while his beloved wife Martha, who he referred to as “Dear Patsy” was its heart and soul.
Most of us have given very little thought to the role that Lady Washington played in the founding of our nation. The woman who we think of as the “Queen of Frumps” had leading roles in the Revolutionary War, the first Presidency and even the First Mint in Philadelphia. In a dark corner, near the first coin press in the Philadelphia Mint, hangs a painting by John Ward Dunsmore which depicts Lady Washington, as the focal point of leading characters inspecting the first coins!
The painting of a young Martha by Charles Wilson Peale circa 1776 would be perfect for the front of the new $20 bill, while the Dunsmore painting could occupy the back. This is the right thing to do. It was Martha Washington who risked being kidnapped every winter to serve the troops in camp; who committed her entire household to supply the Continental Army with food and clothing during the war; furthermore she gave her silver bullion to the Philadelphia Mint to begin the process of making currency. It is Martha Washington who deserves the honor of our vote!
Diane Wheeler has a passion for early American history and is the wife of Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler.