Alexander Hamilton’s Descendant Reacts To New $10 Bill, Says He Will ‘Do Anything’ To Keep Him On The Note

As the U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday the plans to feature a woman who fought for democracy in the country, on the $10 bill, Douglas Hamilton, a descendant of the first treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, reportedly said he would “do anything” to keep his ancestor on the note. The bill is expected to be made public in 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the name of the woman to be featured on the bill will be announced by October this year. However, Douglas said he could not “think of another individual” who made a bigger contribution to the U.S., Time magazine reported on Wednesday.

“What he did to turn America around financially after the American Revolution—we wouldn’t be the greatest nation in the world today if it weren’t for him,” the 64-year-old reportedly said.

Douglas said he was aware of the possible redesigning of the $10 bill and that he plans to fight to keep the treasury's founder on the paper money. “There have been attempts to change the $10 bill before,” he told Time magazine, referring to the 2004 campaign to feature former President Ronald Reagan on the bill. “If there were plans to remove him, we would do everything we could to make sure Alexander Hamilton remained on the $10 bill,” he added.

According to the treasury department, although a woman’s face will appear on the bill, Hamilton's image will still be on the note. "Our paper bills -- and the images of great American leaders and symbols they depict -- have long been a way for us to honor our past and express our values," Lew reportedly said.

The last image change on an American currency was in 1929 when Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the U.S., replaced Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the country, on the $20 bill, the New York Times reported. In order to stop the forging of money, the treasury department redesigns it from time to time.

The last woman to be featured on any American bill was Martha Washington, wife of the first U.S. president George Washington, who appeared between 1891 and 1896 on the Silver Dollar certificate, ABC News reported.