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Woman on $10 Bill — Not Till 2016 Says Treasury, But There Are Multiple Valid Reasons

By Alap Naik Desai
Published on: 05:33 PST, Dec 13, 2015

The decision to put a woman on the $10 bill has been put off till next year. While it may seem to be procrastination or avoidance tactics to have a woman grace a currency note, there are multiple valid reasons that have compelled the United States Treasury Department to delay the final design.

It appears Americans will have to wait some more to find out which famous woman will be on the new $10 bill. The Treasury Department is seeking more time to make the final decision call. After more than six months of public input on one of the biggest currency redesigns, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is still unable to decide which woman will have her face on the tenner. The redesign is about as big as it gets, and it has been nearly a century since such a cosmetic undertaking has taken place on an American currency note.

Back in June, the Treasury Department announced it was going to put a woman on a $10, reported AJC. The redesigned currency note would have a female, but given the fact there have been many famous and illustrious women in American history, it was a tough task singling out one. Hence, the department had asked the general public for their input on which historical figure to choose. The department had intended to announce the choice before 2015 was out, but that decision has been officially put off until sometime in 2016, reported USA Today.

While the delay tactic might appear to be an avoidance technique, especially when there was huge public outcry over the supposed demotion of — though not entirely removing — founding father Alexander Hamilton, there have been several reasons for not finalizing the name. The most notable reason was way too much input from the public, revealed a statement by a senior Treasury adviser.

“As a result of the tremendous amount of engagement, we have many more ideas than we had originally anticipated. Therefore, we are taking additional time to carefully review and consider a range of options to honor the theme of democracy as well as the notable contributions women have made to our country.”

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who had confirmed the decision to put a woman on the new $10 bill in June, had previously claimed that Alexander Hamilton will remain on the $10 bill. But with the deadline approaching, an unexpected wave of suggestions to an open call for ideas, and public outcry to the thought of demoting — though not entirely removing — founding father Alexander Hamilton, the department said Friday it is pushing back its deadline, reported DB Techno.

The entire redesign of the $10 bill had come under public scrutiny. Incidentally, people, many of them women, were of the opinion that it was Andrew Jackson who ought to be replaced, on the $20 bill. They felt, being one of the founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton should remain on the $10. The seventh U.S. president, Andrew Jackson, was even replaced with abolitionist and human-rights champion Harriet Tubman on a mockup of the $20 bill. The redesign of the $20 bill was proposed by the group Women On 20s. However, the U.S. Treasury Department confirmed it intends to focus on the $10 bill only. The reasons are quite technical, and nothing to do with the denomination of the currency. The $10 bill, one of the most common denominations in circulation today, was long overdue for an update for security reasons.

Though the list of women who could be the face on the next $10 bill is long, there are a few favorites, including women’s suffragist Susan B. Anthony, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, former slave turned African-American abolitionist Sojourner Truth, first female chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, and many others. Who do you think should be on the $10 bill?

Incidentally, the Treasury Department plans to unveil the new design in 2020 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The new $10 bill will enter circulation soon after.

[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]

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