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Posted: |
Jun 23, 2015 - 2:35 AM
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By: |
Richard-W
(Member)
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Eric Paddon:
A few important words regarding the face that is currently on the $10 bill and why that face is on it.
There would not be a United States of America but for the role played by Alexander Hamilton first at the Constitutional Convention, when he and James Madison together saved this nation from the post-Independence chaos of the Articles of Confederation by devising what became the rock of this nation, the Constitution. And when there were many who were concerned, not unjustifiably about what possible dangers this bold and novel idea of a large Republic that had *never* been tried in the annals of history before (republics had always up to that point been felt to work only in small-sized city-states), Hamilton, Madison and other brilliant minds authored the Federalist Papers, (which sadly long ago ceased to be required reading in many of our college curriculums) which turned the tide and made possible the ratification of the Constitution against very long odds.
As the first Secretary of the Treasury, it was Hamilton who provided the economic and financial foundation of our government that helped to build its credibility as a nation in these difficult early years when our nation faced a test for survival as great as the Civil War would be in the next century where the slightest failure in establishing something that could endure for the long-term could send a new experiment in self-government crashing down and dead before it had a chance to get started.
And it was Hamilton, who as unofficial leader of the Federalist Party in 1800, helped to insure the first orderly and peaceful transition of power from one political party to another when he decided it was time to put an end to the deadlock of the 1800 Election and tell his supporters in Congress that they needed to put partisan sentiments aside and allow the election of Thomas Jefferson as President. After a decade of partisan acrimony that would make even that what we see in today's era seem tame by comparison, America's first test of whether it could transition power peacefully was passed.
Too much has been written in more recent years about Hamilton and his feud with Aaron Burr that resulted in his death, or the more gossipy aspects of his private life that its caused a generation of Americans to lose sight of why men like him, Madison, Jefferson, John Adams and George Washington were not mere "dead white men" less worthy of attention and study in a day and age where our standards for teaching history have been turned upside down in the name of political correctness and we have lost sight of why these men deserved the honors that were given them in their time and in generations past.
Does this mean I am against honoring the centennial of women's suffrage? Not at all. But the appropriate way to do this would have been in the tradition of how we used to honor such events through the production and sale of special commemorative coins. From the time of the 400th anniversary of Columbus through the 1980s, we produced many fine tributes to the likes of Booker T. Washington etc. and I would be all for a similar commemoration then (or for even a temporary change for one or two years only on a coin that regularly circulates as we did with Bicentennial quarters in the 70s). But the permanent representations on our coins and paper money IMO should remain reserved for the truly great figures of our history who were the key to establishing our country and for saving it through times of extreme peril. The more we lose our regard and respect for them by deciding they are somehow no longer worth honoring, the more we do the totality of our country's history a disservice.
Eric Paddon:
ericnelson:
A while ago there was talk about replacing Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. Now's there's a President we can dispense with. Why honor a President who presided over the Native American genocide?
#1-Andrew Jackson was one of the nation's greatest generals whose victory at the Battle of New Orleans gave the British a defeat they never suffered the likes of throughout the entire decade of the Napoleonic wars. Jackson's victory was military brilliance at its finest that drew on the best of American from all races and ethnicities who came together at the defense of New Orleans to save the city. Even though the Treaty of Ghent was signed during the Battle, the victory is why the British after the War of 1812 became America's ally after being their enemy for the first thirty years following Independence. New Orleans is why we then had cooperation with the British that led to the Rush-Bagot Treaty finalizing the US-Canada border in the East and also leading to the permanent demilitarization of the Great Lakes.
2-Jackson was the first President to make the office a *national* office, by stressing the concept of the President as President of the people. The first to use the veto on the grounds that the Presidency represented a check against elite interests of Congress. In other words, he democratized the office as a man of the people who was the first President to come from truly humbler backgrounds and one who was not from Virginia or Massachusetts.
3-The Indian question was not a case of "genocide". Was it humane by today's standards? No, but Jackson's actions have to be studied in the context of what was happening in his times and what prompted his decision. Jackson's removal policy of those who were not going to assimilate meant that the Federal government, not the state of Georgia was taking charge of something that had it been left to the state of Georgia, would have resulted in a true genocide by the modern standard and which historians agree would have been far worse.
4-Jackson's courage in the Nullification Crisis when he stood behind the Constitution when secession loomed as a danger decades before the Civil War.
These facts also presented for the benefit of those who have been getting their history lessons from places rooted in politically correct agendas.
Eric Paddon:
Solium:
@ Eric Paddon - Thxs for the history lesson. I'm really not sure how I feel about changing the face on currency. I don't think we should sweep away the monumental achievements of some for political correction. On the other hand the roots of our nation as a whole is solely misrepresented without acknowledging women and minorities.
The thing is though, there already has been a long history of doing just that in coins. For over 100 years, only a woman could be found our coins (Lady Liberty). And we also had an Indian on the front of the penny for 50 years and an Indian on the front of the nickel for 25 years. The Susan B. Anthony dollar is still legal tender and legitimate to use as money and we have the Sacajawea dollar coin as well. And we have a long tradition of commemorative coins that have honored such people and events too.
Thank you for these well-informed, thoughtful, intelligent and articulate posts, Eric Paddon. Obviously there are important issues to consider when changing the face on the ten dollar bill to suit a politically correct agenda. The face that's on it earned it.
But American women should be represented on our currency. The government should find another way. Perhaps initiate a $25 dollar bill or something.
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This guy above and Boston sports writer Dan Shaughnessy (below) must have been separated at birth. Along with former basketball star Bill Walton.
Dear God, ANZAL ... they've run with it!!!
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/lookalikes
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