Sadly, I would guess that most high school students today would have no idea who Alexander Hamilton was, much less what he did. At the same time, I would be suprized if threre were many of those same students who did not know about Rosa Parks. That’s where our educational system put its priorities these days.
My jr. high students knew. Funny thing is, in the Jefferson/Hamilton political fight, Hamiton’s vision of our nation’s future was much closer to how things turned out, than Jefferson’s. His insistence on a sound currency, honoring our debts and encouragement of business and industry got our country’ s economy off to a good start. Yet it is Jefferson who is revered, even though he unapologetically owned slaves, lived constantly in debt, and whose Presidency destroyed the American economy.
As an aside, an American woman has appeared on our currency—Martha Washington in the 19th century. Any bets that she’ll be on the $10 bill?