A bipartisan group of House members introduced a bill Tuesday that would require the Treasury Department to put abolitionist Harriett Tubman’s portrait on U.S. currency by the end of 2017.
Tubman guided hundreds of runaway slaves from the South to northern cities via the Underground Railroad, a secret network of routes and safe houses. She was born in about 1820 in Dorchester County, Md., and died in 1913 in Auburn, N.Y.
"Harriet Tubman was called the Moses of her people," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, one of the bill’s co-sponsors. "Born in Maryland, she escaped slavery and courageously fought for the freedom of other slaves before the Civil War. She continued to battle injustice and inequality until her death. Placing Harriet Tubman on our U.S. Currency is a fitting tribute to a woman who fought to make the values enshrined in our Constitution a reality for all Americans."
Reps. John Katko, R-N.Y., Gwen Graham, D-Fla., and Will Hurd, R-Texas, are among the bill’s co-sponsors.
"She bravely led countless Americans to freedom and opportunity, courageously fought for her country, and was an outspoken advocate for women’s suffrage," Katko said . "This legislation recognizes the incredible contributions Harriet Tubman has made to our great country by preserving her legacy, courage, and commitment to others on our U.S. Currency."
The measure dovetails with efforts by a campaign called Women on 20s, a drive to replace President Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill with a woman from history by 2020. Tubman edged former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt 118,328 to 111,227 in an unofficial ballot vote conducted online by Women on 20s.
While the group wants a woman on the 20 dollar bill, the Cummings-Katko measure allows the Treasury Department to decide on which note to place Tubman’s image.