Harriet Tubman’s image will replace Andrew Jackson’s image on the front of the $20 bill, beginning sometime after 2020. Jackson’s image will move to the back of the bill. During Harriet Tubman’s life, she was hated by the Southern Democrats but loved by the party of Lincoln, the Republicans. Because of the change of the $20 bill, Tubman’s life and meaning has become again a controversial topic for the United States of America.
Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave who risked her life to free others. Born a slave in Maryland, we believe her birth date was 1822, though we are unsure because slaveholders tried to take away any birthday celebrations for slaves. It was believed that if a slave didn’t think she was special, she would follow orders better. Some time in her young adulthood, Tubman escaped and travelled along the Underground Railroad until she made it to Pennsylvania, a free state. After making it to freedom, she returned South numerous times to rescue dozens of slaves. Escaping from slavery was dangerous, but this did not stop Tubman from returning to the South to rescue more slaves. She travelled on the Underground Railroad. This was a secret system of families, mainly white, who sheltered and fed escaped slaves during the day at their homes, called “stations”. At nighttime, the slaves continued on the “railroad” until they made it to another station, or into the North. Tubman acted as a conductor, a person who led the slaves along the railroad. Harriet Tubman carried a gun while a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Running away from slavery into the unknown was so terrifying, that some slaves wanted to return to their masters while on the journey to freedom. If a slave started to turn back, Tubman would point the gun at these individuals and threaten to shoot if they returned. Tubman knew the slave master would torture the slave until he found out information where the other runaways were. Unlike Andrew Jackson who was the founder of the modern Democratic Party, Harriet Tubman was a lifelong Republican, even acting as a spy against the southern slaveholding Democrats during the Civil War (1861-1865). Tubman reportedly had hundreds of intelligence contacts and could easily gain the trust of slaves in the South. In one scouting mission, she became the first woman to command a significant number of American troops in combat. This action freed more slaves than all of her journeys on the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was a devout Christian and believed she gained her strength and courage to help others from her belief throughout her lifetime. After the Civil War, she helped to found a church and a retirement home. She also fought for woman’s suffrage and fair treatment of black Civil War veterans. Harriet Tubman died in 1913, loved by the North and the slaves she had freed. Irony One definition of irony is "a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result." It is ironic that the Obama administration is replacing Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the front of the $20 bill. Jackson is the modern founder of the Democratic Party. President Obama is the leader of the Democratic Party. Jackson was a populist, and Obama campaigned as one. Tubman was hated by Democrats and loved by Republicans. She was a gun-carrying, Republican Christian, the exact person that President Obama continues to speak and act against. It is ironic that under a Democratic administration that is against civilian use of weapons, that Harriet Tubman is replacing the founder of the Democratic Party on the $20 bill. Questions
By John De Gree of www.classicalhistorian.com Copyright 2016. All Rights Reserved.
3 Comments
A few weeks ago, two radical Islamic terrorists murdered 14 and wounded over 29 in San Bernardino, California. President Obama responded by stating the U.S. Congress needs to pass stricter gun controls. A few days before his comments to Americans, in Paris, France, he stated that mass shootings don’t happen in other countries like they do in America. To have an opinion on gun control and mass shootings, it is important to know the facts and how the U.S.A. compares with other countries regarding mass shootings.
The United States of America is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This organization is composed of 34 democracies with market economies, as well as more than 70 non-member economies. It makes sense to compare mass shootings in the U.S.A. with countries in the OECD, instead of using countries that are extremely poor, or those led by tyrants, or with countries that are in war. Of the OECD member countries, the United States of America is sixth in the frequency of mass shootings from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013. These countries had a higher frequency of mass shootings: Norway, Finland, Slovakia, Israel, Switzerland. It is important to note that the five countries before the U.S.A. in the frequency of mass shootings have national restrictive gun control laws. In terms of total victims of mass shootings as a rate per 100,000 people, the U.S.A. is fourth behind Norway, Finland, and Switzerland. Another comparison that can be made involves individuals committing mass murder with guns. Since 1982, there have been five mass murders with victims numbering at least 30. The following is the list:
A third comparison involving gun violence can be made involving all countries worldwide. One company, START, is a national consortium for the study of terrorism and responses to terrorism. These are some of its findings on “mass-fatality, coordinated attacks worldwide.” All of these attacks occurred outside of the U.S.A.
For a fourth comparison, we can compare the U.S.A. with one country, France, in 2015. In France in January, Islamic terrorists attacked the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical journal, killing 11 and wounding 11. Within two days of this attack, Islamic terrorists attacked other locations in Paris, including a Jewish deli. 20 were killed and 22 wounded in these attacks. In November 2015, Islamic terrorists attacked French civilians attending a concert and sitting at a café. They killed 130 and wounded 368. In the U.S.A. in 2015, in May 2015, two terrorists were shot and killed while trying to attack “Draw Muhammad” cartoon art exhibitors. In December, two Islamic terrorists killed 14 and wounded 21 in San Bernardino. France has very strict gun controls nationally and the U.S.A. does not. Questions:
|
John De GreeJohn De Gree writes the current events with a look at the history of each topic. Articles are written for the young person, aged 10-18, and Mr. De Gree carefully writes so that all readers can understand the event. The perspective the current events are written in is Judeo-Christian. Receive Articles and Coupons in Your EmailArchives
April 2025
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
|
SUPPORT
|
RESOURCES
|
|
|
|
|
|