# black man on back of two dollar bill **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703 "2005-10-04T05:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mr\_s](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@mr\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_s)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/1 "2005-10-04T05:03:41Z")
Hello all, Searched on the web and cannot believe I haven’t found any reliable sites on this question. I would like to bring this up with a high school history class I teach, but I want to find out the facts. On the back of the $2 bill, there is a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Sitting towards the left is what looks like a black man. I’ve heard two explanations for this: 1. On a site run by Dick Gregory, he claims this is John Hanson, the first President of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. Wikipedia debunks this myth, as it says that Hanson was white ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_Hanson\_(myths)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson_%28myths%29)). 2. Another teacher told me that when the bicentennial $2 bill was created in 1976, the govt decided to play lip service to civil rights by including a black man in the picture, but that no black men were really present. Sounds more believable to me, but I havent found any confirmation. I apologize if this has been taken up already; I don’t have search capability on these boards yet. But if there is a link you could point me to, I would really appreciate it. Thanks very much, Mr. S ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/2 "2005-10-04T05:06:51Z")
[Correct Link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hanson_%28myths%29) ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/3 "2005-10-04T05:07:35Z")
[http://www.silver-eagle-coins.com/Images/2003TWO.jpg](http://www.silver-eagle-coins.com/Images/2003TWO.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/4 "2005-10-04T05:33:01Z")
I had a look at the website of the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing.](http://www.moneyfactory.com/) While it doesn’t comment on the figures on the $2 note, [this section](http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/97) says that there are “no images of African-Americans printed on U.S. currency.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/5 "2005-10-04T05:56:21Z")
Or, there’s 3) There’s no black man in that image, some folks just think there is one Frankly, they all look green to me. And at that level of detail, I don’t think one could reliably distinguish any of the other characteristics which could differentiate between races. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/6 "2005-10-04T06:17:45Z")
[Here’s the painting it was taken from](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Declaration_independence.jpg). I don’t see any black people. > [@Cunctator](#): > > While it doesn’t comment on the figures on the $2 note, [this section](http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/97) says that there are “no images of African-Americans printed on U.S. currency.” Well there’s Susan B. Anthony but I guess that’s not “printed”. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/7 "2005-10-04T06:20:42Z")
Wait a minute… Susan B. Anthony wasn’t black? I’ll be damned. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/8 "2005-10-04T06:56:41Z")
It’d be just like Whitey to put a black man on a small bill nobody uses. But in this case, I guess Whitey outdid himself by not putting a black man on a dollar bill at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/9 "2005-10-04T07:18:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’d be just like Whitey to put a black man on a small bill nobody uses. But in this case, I guess Whitey outdid himself by not putting a black man on a dollar bill at all. Actually, as a matter of fact, Frederick Douglas was on the face of a $10,000 note issued for private bank transfers between 1919 and 1929. Oh, right, like you know for certain, offhand, that I’m lying. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/10 "2005-10-04T07:33:38Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Actually, as a matter of fact, Frederick Douglas was on the face of a $10,000 note issued for private bank transfers between 1919 and 1929. Ah, that’s different then. They put a black man on a _large_ bill nobody uses! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/11 "2005-10-04T07:52:18Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Wait a minute… Susan B. Anthony wasn’t black? I’ll be damned. And here I was thinking, “Susan B Anthony wasn’t white? I’ll be damned!” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/12 "2005-10-04T10:40:00Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Actually, as a matter of fact, Frederick Douglas was on the face of a $10,000 note issued for private bank transfers between 1919 and 1929. > > Oh, right, like you know for certain, offhand, that I’m lying. 😉 [sub]As a matter of fact, I do[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/13 "2005-10-04T16:34:43Z")
On the $2 bill, there does appear to be a person whose skin is darker - it’s the 4th seated man from the left in the front row. However, when comparing it to the original painting(thanks, **Eleusis** ), it appears that the man is in shadow, not actually dark-skinned. In short, he appears black because of the limitations of transferring a color painting to a small green and white printing. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/14 "2005-10-04T17:10:19Z")
I happen to carry a 2 dollar bill around in my wallet, and I think the shadow assumption is correct. Especially since the person seated to the right of him seems to be half in shadow. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/15 "2005-10-04T17:21:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Frankly, they all look green to me. The Declaration of Independence was signed by **green men???** 😛 Oy! ;j Harry Cox was right! Everything you know is wrong! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/16 "2005-10-04T17:58:14Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > The Declaration of Independence was signed by **green men???** 😛 > > Oy! ;j Harry Cox was right! Everything you know is wrong! It’s the Alien Lizard People. Knew it all along. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/17 "2005-10-04T19:56:56Z")
Soylent Green is PEOPLE! But, on first examination, they all look white to me. I guess I can see the shadow area being confusing… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/18 "2005-10-05T01:20:13Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I happen to carry a 2 dollar bill around in my wallet HEY! You just sparked my memory! I remember when I was a kid older people would carry a $2 bill hidden in their wallet. Any idea where that trend originated? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/19 "2005-10-05T03:05:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’d be just like Whitey to put a black man on a small bill nobody uses. But in this case, I guess Whitey outdid himself by not putting a black man on a dollar bill at all. **Marley23** , your comments are not appreciated in GQ. Please do not repeat this. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703/20 "2005-10-05T03:30:37Z")
> [@xash](#): > > **Marley23** , your comments are not appreciated in GQ. Please do not repeat this. **Xash** , I’m not going to get into it, but even if it’s not funny, show some recognition when someone is kidding. I’m pretty sure that’s allowed in GQ. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-man-on-back-of-two-dollar-bill/324703.md?page=2)