Apologies in advance if this has already been asked, but why do we have all these random bozos on American currency? I can understand Washington and Lincoln, but come on…Andrew Jackson? Ulysses S. Grant?
Andrew Jackson was the one who started a panic (which Van Buren took the heat for) due to the fact that he terminated the National Bank and redistributed federal deposits to his private pet banks. Jackson’s Specie Circular mandated that land could only be bought with precious metals such as gold and silver, not bank notes. And we put this man on currency?
Grant might have been a superb general, but he was also one of the most incompetent and bumbling presidents in the history of our nation. You think Clinton was bad? Grant and his cabinet were involved in so many scandals that it makes Clinton look like a choir boy.
No president is perfect, but what about Monroe, Truman, or even non-Presidents such as Patton? And why does Lincoln show up on both the penny and the $5 while Washington shows up on both the quarter and the $1? Why don’t we switch the pictures on the bills and coins every few decades as some have suggested in other threads?
Two words: Good PR - or is that three words?
Good PR indeed. It often has to do with when the design was implemented and when/how the president died.
For instance: John F. Kennedy. I mean, beyond landing a man on the moon, what did this bozo do? Nothing, but the American public was captivated by him and he ended up replacing Benjamin Frankin on the half dollar. Benjamin Franklin! All because he didn’t look pasty on TV one night and he was handsome. The speed the legislation was passed is second only to the addition of Roosevelt on the dime.
Ulysses S Grant isn’t well known as a president, but as a general he was top notch and was instrmental in preserving the union. That’s more or less the same reason (except he was establishing not preserving) Washington was made our first president too. And I must agree, a Patton bill would be cool!
As for Lincoln/Washington (going off the top of my head here, though): the Lincoln cent was introduced in 1909 to mark 100 years after Lincoln’s birth. (Note the memorial reverse was added in 1959=150 years). And the Washington quarter was introduced in 1933 to mark 200 years after Washington’s birthday. Also, the Washington quater was only supposed a one year commemorative. But the public liked it enough to keep it in as a regular issue. I don’t know why those were the coins chosen, but there you have it.
See the currently running thread about US Banknotes for some more info on why we don’t change designs periodically.