A top U.S. Treasury official led a town hall meeting Monday at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls.
It was all about the discussion of putting a woman on the $10 bill. The Treasury Department is working on a redesign of the $10 bill, with plans to put a woman on that currency in time for the 100th anniversary of the amendment that gave women the right to vote.
Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios spoke before a standing room crowd in the Wesleyan Chapel. As she read through questions submitted by the audience, one came up again and again.
“Thousands of women voted for Harriet Tubman to be put on the $20 bill, why does your office expect us to settle for half, let me make something very clear, if it was up to me, it would be on the 100 dollar bill.”
Rios says that what’s driving the decision is security. The $10 bill is a common target of counterfeiting. The move to redesign begins with and is driven by new security features.
“We have not determined which note will follow. So this was not about the $10 bill versus the $20, this was not about Hamilton versus Jackson, this is a conversation about the contributions that women have made to this great country, and that’s where I’d like the conversation to stay.”
Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony were the most cited nominees people at the meeting said they wanted to be pictured on the $10 bill.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Elizabeth Cady Stanton also had support as Rios took suggestions during an hour-long session, where the original 1848 Women's Rights Convention was held.
Afterward, Rios said several hundred names have been suggested since Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced in June that Alexander Hamilton would be replaced on the bill with a woman.
The final decision on the ten dollar bill is expected to take several years. The note is expected to enter circulation in 2020.
Town hall meetings are being held around the country to discuss the new bill.