Poor Alexander Hamilton.
The founder of America's financial system, Hamilton died in 1804 never knowing that his image would grace our $10 bill for nearly a century, starting in 1929. He was the first secretary of the treasury and a founding father.
It's likely his portrait soon will be removed from the $10 bill and replaced with the image of a great American woman. In June, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that Hamilton will be replaced, although a group of congressmen are lobbying to keep Hamilton on the $10.
That effort is noble, but we side with Lew. A woman should be featured.
But who?
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According to a report in Thursday's Grand Forks Herald, more than one in four Americans who participated in a nationwide poll hope the new $10 will feature former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She received 27 percent of the vote, followed by Harriet Tubman at 17 percent and Sacagawea (or Sakakawea, for North Dakotans) with 13 percent.
Understanding that Sakakawea is probably a popular choice within the borders of North Dakota, we still vote for Roosevelt, who transformed the role of first lady during her 13 years in the White House. She also was a dynamo before her husband, Franklin, ascended to the presidency and she was internationally active for years after his death.
A few examples:
• The niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, she was born into the rich society life of New York, but she spent her life working for the betterment of the lives of the poor.
• She was the "eyes and ears" - a term from the Roosevelts themselves - for President Roosevelt after he was paralyzed by polio. The president's strong aversion to being seen in a wheelchair made it difficult for him to see what life really was like during his long presidency. Eleanor Roosevelt travelled incessantly to see America and perform inspections on the president's behalf.
• She gained influence by hosting her own radio shows and even by writing a daily newspaper column. That's not easy to do.
• She made a speech at the Democratic National Convention - which at the time was unheard of for a woman - that helped her husband win his third term as president.
• She was tireless in her efforts to improve civil rights. She was a proponent of blacks in the military and pushed to allow them to have meaningful roles during World War II. She also was a proponent of the Tuskegee Airmen, and alarmed her entourage when, during a tour, she asked to ride with one of the black pilots. That gesture went a long way toward propelling the Tuskegee Airmen into prominence.
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• She also campaigned for anti-lynching legislation, even when her husband and his staff urged her stop. And she defied local law when, during a conference in Alabama, she chose to sit between blacks and whites. She worked for the American Red Cross. She also toured abroad to visit troops during World War II.
• After President Roosevelt's death, she spent 1945 to 1953 as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She was chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission and helped pen the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• In 1961, she was reappointed to the United Nations by President Kennedy, who also appointed her as chairwoman of the President's Commission on the Status of Women.
• She was an author, writing four books.
• Sadly, she was highly criticized for doing all of this. According to the standards and mores of the day, women just weren't supposed to be meddling in such lofty affairs.
That she achieved all she did is quite an accomplishment. That she was a woman who did this in the sexist world of the early 20th century is stunning.
So, it is rather sad that Alexander Hamilton likely will lose his spot of prominence on the $10 bill. It's probably time.
But if Eleanor Roosevelt is his replacement, Americans should be proud.
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This editorial originally ran in the Grand Forks Herald, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.
