2nd LD Writethru: U.S. plans to put woman abolitionist Harriet Tubman on 20-dollar bill

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced on Wednesday that the Treasury plans to put Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman abolitionist in American history, on the front of the 20-dollar bill.

"I am excited to announce that for the first time in more than a century, the front of our currency will feature the portrait of a woman -- Harriet Tubman -- on the 20-dollar note," said Lew in a teleconference on Wednesday.

The reverse of the new 20-dollar bill will continue to feature the White House as well as an image of Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. President, said Lew.

Harriet Tubman, born as a slave in 1822, helped hundreds of slaves escape using the network of safe-houses known as the Underground Railroad and then fought for the right of women to vote in her later life.

The secretary also announced the plans to redesign the 10-dollar and 5-dollar notes.

In June last year, the Treasury Department introduced its initial plan to replace Alexander Hamilton from the 10-dollar bill with a woman figure in a campaign to celebrate the contributions of female historical figures.

The plan received nationwide rebukes, as the opponents argued that Hamilton was America's first Treasury Secretary and the architect of the nation's economic system, and was the least person to be replaced from the American currencies.

Lew announced on Wednesday that the front of the new 10-dollar bill will continue to feature Alexander Hamilton. But the reverse of the 10-dollar note will honor the story and the heroes of the women's suffrage movement against the backdrop of the Treasury building.

The new 10-dollar note design will depict that historic march and honor Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul for their contributions to the suffrage movement, said the secretary.

The department also plans to redesign the back of the 5-dollar note, which will honor events at the Lincoln Memorial and prominent individuals involved in those events, including Marian Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr. The front of the 5-dollar bill will continue to feature President Abraham Lincoln.

The final concept designs for the new notes will all be unveiled in 2020 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, said Lew. Enditem