That Obama is the United States' most admirable, accomplished modern president is a widely acknowledged fact, of course, but it seems possible that controversy might develop if he replaces another equally beloved figure. Here's who's currently on our coins and bills:
- Penny: Abraham Lincoln
- Nickel: Thomas Jefferson
- Dime: FDR
- Quarter: George Washington
- Half-dollar: JFK
- Dollar: George Washington
- $2 bill: Thomas Jefferson
- $5: Lincoln
- $10: Hamilton
- $20: Tubman replacing Jackson
- $50: Ulysses S. Grant
- $100: Benjamin Franklin
The most obvious candidates for replacement would seem to be Grant and JFK, whose historic import is not quite as weighty as that of the others on the list. If we're removing someone from the currency, though, it probably makes sense to take off a slave owner rather than an individual like Kennedy who, for all his faults, did not perpetuate the system of owning human beings as property for purposes of unpaid labor. On that note, we should probably also continue to honor Grant, whose support for civil rights during Reconstruction was for many years unjustly maligned because of the influence of white Southern revisionists.I say get rid of Thomas Jefferson's slave owning ass and move Ben Franklin over to the $2 bill and put on Obama on the $100 going forward. Once we get the demographic numbers on our side I think it's something worth fighting for.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slate..._currency.html
