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?
My wife teaches high school in a suburb of Washington D.C. and she tells me that the students have no idea even who Franklin Roosevelt was, much less any of the founding fathers. On the other hand, they are bombarded with lessons about Rosa Parks, gay rights and etc.