# What famous woman would you like to see on the $20 bill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776 "2015-03-23T15:12:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/121 "2015-03-25T20:55:53Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > FDR, not only had the good fortune to be born white and male, but also into a prominent political family. So he, more than Eleanor, benefited by his familial ties. I’ll leave aside your assertion that FDR stopped hitler, the Red Army might disagree. Well that last is less than true. Eleanor was to some degree the consolation prize for FDR who first set his sight on Alice Roosevelt; Theodore’s oldest daughter. He more or less settle for Theodore’s favorite niece instead. So Eleanor was unlikely to have married FDR if not for familial ties. However, a better argument is Eleanor drove FDR in his political career and was a strong partner in his rise to power. I doubt FDR would have become President without her. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/122 "2015-03-25T21:09:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You have a case for Grant & Jackson, sure. Grant definitely, but Jackson is the namesake of an entire style/school of democracy- “Jacksonian Democracy”, which strove to put democratic power in the hands of the common man and remove it from the elites. That’s why he’s on the $20, I’d bet. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/123 "2015-03-25T21:30:08Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Grant definitely, but Jackson is the namesake of an entire style/school of democracy- “Jacksonian Democracy”, which strove to put democratic power in the hands of the common man and remove it from the elites. > > That’s why he’s on the $20, I’d bet. Well when the decision was made Jackson was considered a hero still. Jackson was a strange one and pretty despicable by today’s standards but he was also a successful populist, bad ass and is the last President to bring our debt to $0. Though the irony of his being against paper money and a national bank always makes me chuckle a bit. I want him off the $20 bill as I am a man of today and his genocidal acts are sufficient to disqualify him for such honor. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/124 "2015-03-25T21:36:28Z")
Someone who knows the true value of a stack of $20s, having handled many of them in her time-Xaviera Hollander. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/125 "2015-03-25T22:03:56Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I want him off the $20 bill as I am a man of today and his genocidal acts are sufficient to disqualify him for such honor. Again, Jackson was not responsible for the Trail of Tears, that was Martin Van Buren. Jackson was in favor of _voluntary_ removal by treaty and land-swaps. Van Buren forced it by bayonet point and caused many deaths by political cronyism,malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, racism and general incompetence. > **[Andrew Jackson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson#Indian_removal_policy)** > > Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States, serving from 1829 to 1837. Before his presidency, he gained fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Often praised as an advocate for ordinary Americans and for his work in preserving the union of states, Jackson has also been criticized for his racial policies, particularly his treatment of Native Americans. > Jackson was born in the colonial Carolinas bef... The treaty was enforced by Jackson’s successor, Van Buren, who sent 7,000 troops to carry out the relocation policy. Due to the infighting between political factions, many Cherokees thought their appeals were still being considered when the relocation began.[53] _It was subsequent to this that as many as 4,000 Cherokees died on the “Trail of Tears”._ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/126 "2015-03-25T22:09:05Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Again, Jackson was not responsible for the Trail of Tears, that was Martin Van Buren. > > Jackson was in favor of _voluntary_ removal by treaty and land-swaps. Van Buren forced it by bayonet point and caused many deaths by political cronyism,malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, racism and general incompetence. > > [Andrew Jackson - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson#Indian_removal_policy) > The treaty was enforced by Jackson’s successor, Van Buren, who sent 7,000 troops to carry out the relocation policy. Due to the infighting between political factions, many Cherokees thought their appeals were still being considered when the relocation began.[53] _It was subsequent to this that as many as 4,000 Cherokees died on the “Trail of Tears”._ The treaties were Jackson’s, Van Buren was just the butcher. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/127 "2015-03-25T22:30:43Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The treaties were Jackson’s, Van Buren was just the butcher. Certainly. But if Jackson had run it, there would have been no Trail of Tears. Jackson wanted voluntary relocation, not forced. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/128 "2015-03-25T23:03:00Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Amelia Earhart. No, 'cause then I’d take it for granted that I keep losing track of my twenties…:smack: How about Nancy Reagan? Not only would it really piss off the _Gipper Is God So Put Him On The Ten_ squad (because she’d “out-rank” him) but she (and her astrologer) was basically the de facto President during the second half of the 1980’s anyway. 😃 –G! ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/129 "2015-03-25T23:24:06Z")
At first, as a non-USian, I’d have gone easily with Tubman. When I first read the name Sojourner Truth I thought she was some sort of indie-folk singer. Having read about her now, it’s toe to toe with good ol’ H T. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/130 "2015-03-25T23:35:40Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Wendy O Williams maybe? From the Plasmatics? If we’re nominating living musical frontliners, I’d say Chrissie Hynde\*, 'cause y’know, if you’re still throwing twenties around and thinking you’re rich, clearly you’re just a Pretender.🆒 –G! \*Yeah, I know she’s a Brit. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/131 "2015-03-26T00:02:10Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > From the Plasmatics? > > . Yeah – that one. And while she herself is not dead, like Hyapatia Lee, her career hasn’t been all that alive lately. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/132 "2015-03-26T00:05:47Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Well that last is less than true. Eleanor was to some degree the consolation prize for FDR who first set his sight on Alice Roosevelt; Theodore’s oldest daughter. He more or less settle for Theodore’s favorite niece instead. So Eleanor was unlikely to have married FDR if not for familial ties. However, a better argument is Eleanor drove FDR in his political career and was a strong partner in his rise to power. I doubt FDR would have become President without her. This is nonsense, FDR was one of the best politicians this country ever produced and one of the most ambitious. He ran for vice president when he was 38. In 1932 he won the most lopsided presidential race since James Monroe. He was not someone who needed to be pushed into politics and he would have won office in 1932 no matter who his wife was. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/133 "2015-03-26T00:13:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If the goal is to encourage people with no legs or of small stature to keep raising the bar, holding up the previous bar raisers seems reasonable. > > There’s not much to be gained by saying, “Nya nya, you can’t be on the money till you’ve formed a new country with a new system of government and ran it for a few years.” If we demand equal output on the part of the nominees as the current people who are on the money, and further demand that those people are dead, then we won’t be able to put any women on the money for another hundred years. Assuming that people can be encouraged by stories of success, holding off on publishing those encouragements just delays progress. It’s basically a catch-22. We aren’t going to let you succeed until you have a history of success. Why should the purpose of who is on the money be to encourage women? Why can’t it be to honor the people who accomplished great things for our nation. If we have to wait until a women deserves that honor, isn’t that a better message to send than you don’t have to be have great accomplishments if your the right sex? If the purpose of having a women on the currency is to encourage other women, why honor Harriet Tubman, Parks or Roosevelt? I don’t think women nowadays need to be encouraged to lead escaped slaves to Canada, start bus boycotts, or marry rich future politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/134 "2015-03-26T00:27:14Z")
Dozens of women, at least, have accomplished truly great things for the nation, while also embodying some quintessential aspect of our country. It’s embarrassing to me as an American that we don’t recognize this more widely. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/135 "2015-03-26T00:28:28Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Why should the purpose of who is on the money be to encourage women? Why can’t it be to honor the people who accomplished great things for our nation. If we have to wait until a women deserves that honor, isn’t that a better message to send than you don’t have to be have great accomplishments if your the right sex? > If the purpose of having a women on the currency is to encourage other women, why honor Harriet Tubman, Parks or Roosevelt? I don’t think women nowadays need to be encouraged to lead escaped slaves to Canada, start bus boycotts, or marry rich future politicians. I recommended Nellie Bly, a self-made woman and entrepreneur. Of course, a lot of this comes down to how you describe it. You could just as easily say that Gandhi (if one is to believe the movie) is largely famous for starving himself at every opportunity, and that since India has split off from the UK, there’s no longer any value in holding him up as someone impressive. I just doubt that very many people would agree with that presentation. If most people hold Tubman to be impressive, then probably they’re seeing something that you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/136 "2015-03-26T00:41:20Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > I’d love it if we moved away from putting presidents on the money. > [@Knorf](#): > > Lets get away from politicians. How about artists, authors, composers, scientists? This was my list posted elsewhere. Half are women. > [@](#): > > …we could get rid of all those Presidents, and honor women and men who inspired, shaped, or embodied America outside political office (where most of us live). > > Georgia O’Keeffe > Thomas Edison > Clara Barton > Mark Twain > Emily Dickinson > Thomas Paine > Isadora Duncan > Walt Whitman > Dorothy Lange > Ralph Waldo Emerson > Barbara McClintock > Jackie Robinson > Rachel Carson > W.E.B. Du Bois > Edna St. Vincent Millay > Frederick Douglass > Lucretia Mott > Frederick Law Olmsted > Margaret Sanger > Horace Mann > Martha Graham > William Faulkner > Dian Fossey > Samuel Gompers > Gertrude Belle Elion > William James > Jane Addams > Henry David Thoreau > Marian Wright Edelman > James Gordon Bennett > Babe Didrikson > Duke Ellington > Jackie Cochran > Frank Lloyd Wright > Mercy Otis Warren > Louis Armstrong > Margaret Mead > Ernest Hemingway > Pearl S. Buck > Benjamin Spock > Margaret Bourke-White > John Steinbeck > Nelly Bly > Booker T. Washington > Marian Anderson > Herman Melville ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/137 "2015-03-26T01:07:21Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > From the Plasmatics? > > If we’re nominating living musical frontliners, I’d say Chrissie Hynde\*, 'cause y’know, if you’re still throwing twenties around and thinking you’re rich, clearly you’re just a Pretender.🆒 > > –G! > \*Yeah, I know she’s a Brit. Hynde is from Akron, Ohio. But her city is now gone. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/138 "2015-03-26T01:17:28Z")
Christa McAuliffe; first runner up: Judy Resnik. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/139 "2015-03-26T01:20:13Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Yeah – that one. And while she herself is not dead, like Hyapatia Lee, her career hasn’t been all that alive lately. 😉 Hyapatia Lee is not dead. > **[Hyapatia Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyapatia_Lee)** > > Vicki Lynch, known professionally as Hyapatia Lee, is an American former adult film actress. She was one of the best-known actresses of the Golden Age of Porn. Lee is an AVN and XRCO Hall of Fame inductee. > Lee was born to teenage parents in the Haughville neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana, and claims Irish and Cherokee descent. She attended the local high school, where she performed in several musicals.: 124  > In 1984, Lee appeared in Sweet Young Foxes and Penthouse magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776/140 "2015-03-26T03:54:52Z")
Somebody pure Like an Ivory Soap Girl 99-44/100 pure Marilyn Chambers [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-woman-would-you-like-to-see-on-the-20-bill/715776.md?page=8)