Amidst the tempest produced among politicians and the mainstream press over the Obama administration’s decision to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, no one bothers to ask some very simple questions: Why does the $20 bill say: “Federal Reserve Note” on it? Doesn’t the term “note” connote a promissory note, which entails a promise to pay something? What exactly is the $20 “Federal Reserve Note” promising to pay? How and when is the promise fulfilled? When … Continue reading Tubman versus Jackson on the $20 Bill