The irony of former United States president Andrew Jackson, a slave owner, losing his place on the front of the country’s $20 bill is that the person who is replacing him was born a slave. Harriet Tubman was selected for helping slaves escape to Canada via the so-called underground railway and for serving as a unionist scout and a spy during the American civil war.
The US treasury also announced that leading members of the women’s rights movement will feature on the back of the $10 bill. Amid a global movement towards revising the veneration of historical figures, such as Cecil Rhodes, who hold views now deemed unacceptable, there had been a campaign to replace Jackson. He remains on the $20 bill, but moves to the back.
But the ultimate irony is that this is not the first woman to feature on the $20 note. The character depicted on the very first version in 1862 was Lady Liberty. More than 150 years later, the symbol of liberty has been replaced by an example of it in practice.
