Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced Wednesday that Harriet Tubman will be the new face on the $20 bill and a Cambridge girl is being congratulated for giving the idea national attention.
Sofia wrote to President Barack Obama and asked him why there were no women on United States currency.
"I thought it was unfair," said Sofia. "If women do important things like men, why shouldn’t they be on the money?" In her letter to the president, Sofia offered a list of women to consider putting on money, including Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, Abigail Adams and Tubman.
Sofia got a response from Obama, praising her for her idea and inviting her to last year’s Easter Egg Roll at the White House. On Wednesday, she got a bigger surprise for her 11th birthday, as it was announced that Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. 7News was there as Sofia got a phone call from Lew, who wished her happy birthday and congratulated her on the news.
"It was amazing, it was the greatest birthday present ever," said Sofia’s mother.
Sofia said she did not think much would happen when she first wrote the letter but she has since been inspired that her small gesture turned into something big.
Lew pledged that the design for the new $20 bill will be accelerated so it will be finished by 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote. The $10 and $5 bills are also expected to undergo redesigns. The $10 bill was originally going to have a woman replace Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first Treasury Secretary, but Lew said Hamilton will remain on the bill. Instead, the Treasury building on the back of the $10 bill will be replaced by a mural featuring suffragette leaders.
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