Last Summer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that he was considering redesigning the dollar bill in order to feature the portrait of a woman. This week, Treasury Secretary Lew is expected to announce whether to make the decision.
According to the initial announcement last June, the redesigning will affect the $10 bill. The bill, which has the portrait of Alexander Hamilton, will be redesigned to feature a portrait of a woman instead. The name of the woman has not been decided, but the move would lead the U.S. to have its first bill featuring the portrait of a woman in nearly a century.
However, recent events suggested that Hamilton's portrait will not be replaced with a woman's portrait after all. According to CNN Money, the plan triggered angry reproaches from Hamilton's fans. One of their current protest movement has gained the attention of many in the form of a hip hop Broadway musical about the former Treasury Secretary's life.
The Broadway, titled "Hamilton," succeeded in carrying its mission, as pressures grew, leading Treasury Secretary Lew to decide that Hamilton should remain on the bill. The show has become on of Broadway's hottest since the bill redesigning plan was revealed. The show has even been performed exclusively for Obama and his guests last month.
In an interview last month, Lew stated how Alexander Hamilton is one of his heroes. He said, as quoted by Herald & Review, "He's not leaving our money. We're going to put a woman on the face of our currency. And this is not just about the $10 bill. This is about a whole series of bills. We're going to be working on the 5, the 10, and the 20."
There are several other alternatives in featuring women's portraits in the dollar bill while retaining Hamilton's existing place. Portraits of women could be featured on the back of the bills. Or, the woman portrait could be featured in other bills. It's already been considered that a portrait of a woman could replace the portrait of former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.
The initial plan stated that the new $10 bills featuring a portrait of a woman would be unveiled in 2020. The redesigned then would be put in circulation soon after, as reported by Bloomberg. However, it looks like the plan will be reviewed further and the timeline might change.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary's plan to feature a portrait of a woman in a dollar bill is experiencing changes driven by protest movements demanding Alexander Hamilton to be featured on the bill. Several alternatives are being considered to still bring a woman's face to the currency.
