Group wants a woman on the $20 bill

instead of Andrew Jackson

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.14.15
Word Count 536

Andrew Jackson on a $20 bill from 1929. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

WASHINGTON A group wants to take President Andrew Jackson's face off the $20 bill.
It wants to put a woman on the bill instead. The group is called Women on 20s. It has four
nal choices of women to go on the $20 bill. Right now there are no women on U.S. paper
money.
Four women were chosen: Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Wilma
Mankiller. Eleanor Roosevelt was a rst lady. She did a lot to help other people. Harriet
Tubman fought against slavery. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist. She fought for the
rights of black Americans. Wilma Mankiller was the rst woman elected chief of a big
Native American tribe.
People can now vote for one of the four.

The Trail Of Tears

The group originally had a list of 100 names. The list then became 60. They asked people
what they thought. Then the list was pushed down to 30 people. Experts on women's
history helped pick 15 women from the list.

People on the list of 15 included Susan B. Anthony. She fought for women to get the right
to vote. Women won the right to vote in 1920. Before then, only men could vote.
The Women on 20s group said that Roosevelt, Tubman and Parks received the most votes.
Mankiller was not the list of 15 that the public voted on. The group said she was selected
for the nal four because a lot of people asked for her. People really wanted to be able to
choose a Native American to take Jackson's place, the group said.
President Jackson helped pass laws that forced Native Americans to leave their lands.
They had to go far away. The forced moving of the Native Americans is known as the Trail
of Tears. This is one reason why the group wants to change the $20.
The year 2020 will also be 100 years since the 19th Amendment was passed. The change
to the Constitution allowed women to vote.

No Change Since 1929

Susan Ades Stone is in charge of Women on 20s. She said that the group was not
surprised by the three women whose names received the most votes. Those women are
the most well-known, she said. Students learn about them in schools. They also seemed
like "heroes," she said.
The U.S. Treasury is in charge of printing money. The person who runs the Treasury is
called the treasury secretary. He is supposed to chose the pictures of people that will
appear on money.
Stone said the group wants to talk to the president instead. She hopes to talk to the White
House in the next few weeks. The group thinks that getting the president involved will bring
more attention to replacing Jackson on the $20 bill..
The person who wins the group's vote will not necessarily be the person on the bill, Stone
said. If the White House and Treasury like the idea, groups of other people would choose
who would be on the bill. They would also choose what the money would look like.
The men featured on current U.S. bills have not changed for a long time. The last time
there was a change was in 1929.

Quiz
1

Select the paragraph from the section The Trail Of Tears that gives details about the voting
process for the $20 bill.

Select the paragraph from the section No Change Since 1929 that gives details about why
certain women were popular choices in the voting process.

Which answer choice BEST explains the articles central idea?

(A)

One of the women chosen was Eleanor Roosevelt.

(B)

There are no women on paper money right now.

(C)

A group called Women on 20s wants to replace Andrew Jackson with a

woman on the $20 bill.

(D)

Andrew Jackson once passed laws that forced Native Americans to leave
their land.

Which sentence from the section No Change Since 1929 BEST explains that sections central
idea?
(A)

The person who runs the Treasury is called the treasury secretary.

(B)

The group thinks that getting the president involved will bring more attention
to replacing Jackson on the $20 bill.

(C)

Susan Ades Stone is in charge of Women on 20s.

(D)

The person who wins the group's vote will not necessarily be the person on
the bill, Stone said.