Here Is How the New $20 Bill Can Inspire Us Each Day for Freedom

Harriet Tubman and the signing of the Declaration of Independence are inspirational. Why not celebrate them both simultaneously?
By Stephen Gardner ,

Amid Fourth of July celebrations and the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we should be grateful to our Founding Fathers for giving birth to a new nation free of kings and an outdated class system.

In April, the Internet was abuzz when the Department of the the Treasury said that Harriet Tubman would replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. 

It is a great idea, because Tubman put her life on the line each day to help slaves escape. What she did was incredible and should be honored.

However, the Treasury Department might be missing the mark with the design of the new $20 bill. It hasn't gone far enough to celebrate freedom fighters and our great nation.

Although the back of the rarely used $2 bill has Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence on the front, and an image of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence on the back, this should be switched with the more widely used $20 bill, which carries an image of the White House on the back.

After all, the signing of the Declaration of Independence was the moment America stood up for its freedom.

It was the time when all men were created equal. It is the time when America said that all people have an unalienable right to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

Surely that image needs to be seen, remembered, honored and celebrated more often than on the $2 bill, which many people think is out of circulation. The act of seeking freedom over comfort should be stirred in us each time we think of America and would perfectly complement the image of Tubman on the front.

Let us not put the signing of the Declaration of Independence out of circulation or out of our minds. People flock to America because of the freedom this document created and because of the opportunities our country provides.

We should not forget the signing of the Declaration of Independence, not on the Fourth of July or any other day. We should continually seek freedom with our laws, our financial lives and for our families, and Tubman and the Declaration of Independence should inspire us all.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. 

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