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People are sharing which great American hero they'd add to Mount Rushmore

What legendary non-president deserves to be the 5th face?

via Wikimedia Commons
Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941. The sculptor also chose the four presidents who are carved into granite on the mountain’s face. He selected the four presidents to represent the nation's birth (George Washington), growth (Thomas Jefferson), development (Theodore Roosevelt) and preservation (Abraham Lincoln).

Since the faces on Mount Rushmore were first chiseled into granite there have been debates over which presidents also deserve to be on the monument. Two years ago, then-President Donald Trump floated the idea that he deserved to have his face carved in granite.

A Reddit user posed an interesting question to the online forum about the famous monument and it sparked a great conversation. “You get to add another American to Mt. Rushmore but it can’t be a president. Who do you choose?”

That’s a tough question to answer but a fun one to ponder. What criteria does one use to choose the greatest American that ever lived who wasn’t a president? More than 545 million people have lived in the country over the past 244 years. How do we choose one?

Do you select someone from the world of sports, science, the arts, literature, civil rights, religion, military or healthcare? What about someone who performed a heroic deed? Someone that would be hilarious next to these fabled statesmen? A fictional character? There are so many choices!

mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsYou'll definitely want to visit Mount Rushmore if they start adding people from this list.Giphy

To weight the responses on the Reddit post, I looked at the number of upvotes each suggestion received and then ranked them. It’s not the most scientific way of doing things but it gives us a pretty good idea about who people think should make it to the monument.

Here are the top 20 most popular responses to the burning question: “Which non-president should be added to Mount Rushmore?”

1.

"Dr. Jonas Salk. Saved us all from polio." — Barefoot_Alvin

Salk invented the polio vaccine in 1955. Soon thereafter, the disease was essentially eradicated after killing a stunning half a million people per year for the previous several decades. This man, this hero, would certainly have strong thoughts if he were alive today.

jonas salk, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsSalk worked incredibly hard to develop a lifesaving vaccine. Wonder what he'd think about RFK Jr?By SAS Scandinavian Airlines - Commons

2.

"There is already a non-president on Mt. Rushmore. John Cena." — zoqforpik

The Reddit user is clearly referencing the wrestler's catchphrase.

john cena, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsIs John Cena in the room with us right now?Giphy

3.

"Dolly Parton." — Airos42

A true legend in her field, with plenty of longevity and a huge heart. I can see it.

4.

"Mr. Rogers." — PitchforkJoe

One of the best human beings to ever live. How rare is it for a man to achieve this level of fame without a single controversy or scandal? Oh, sorry, we're forgetting about the one time he did piss off a lot of viewers — for taking a stand against racial inequality on his show.

mr. rogers, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsA famous heterosexual white man without a scandal to be seen.Giphy

5.

"Mark Twain. The quintessential American writer. We always put up statues of military and politicians across this country. It would be nice to see more of our creative side get honored. Put up Poe on the mountain. Attract goths to the site." — inksmudgedhands

6.

"Martin Luther King Jr." — bahamuto

A great and noble choice. Few people did more to advance social progress in the United States than Martin Luther King, Jr., who did so at great cost. If anyone deserves to live forever in granite, it's him.

7.

"How is Nicolas Cage not here yet?" — deus_vult

Nicolas Cage has had an amazing redemption arc that puts him up there with some of the greatest American heroes. A few years ago he was considered a washed-up, no-talent actor who's best days and films were behind him. After a rough string of B-movies, he somehow earned "cult favorite" status and began stacking up an incredible filmography. Not too many people come back from that kind of soft-cancelling. That's the American dream, right?

nicolas cage, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsComing back from the edge of irrelevance is the real American dream.Giphy

8.

"John Wilkes Booth but he's further back behind Lincoln." — Jakovosol0

Oof. Still too soon?

9.

"Benjamin Franklin." — FinnbarMcBride

It's a common misconception that Ben Franklin invented electricity. He didn't. But he did discover that lightning was a form of electrical discharge, so if it weren't for him, we'd all still be frolicking around in thunderstorms without a care in the world! Thanks, Ben.

ben franklin, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsWhat's under those pantaloons?Giphy

10.

"Sacagawea." — bivalve_connisseur

The Louisiana Territory, ever heard of it? Without Sacagawea as their guide, Lewis and Clark never could have made the perilous journey across what is now a stretch of land containing Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, and more. She was only a teenager at the time. Sadly, she died in her early twenties — just think of what other historical impact she may have made.

sacagawea, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsLewis and Clark get way more fanfare than they deserve.Giphy

11.

"Homer Simpson." — EonClaw

If we're considering fictional characters, this discussions starts to get a whole lot more interesting.

12.

"Bob Ross." — j-oats

13.

"Weird Al." — OntarioLakeside

No one did more for the genre of satirical polka parodies of pop songs than Weird Al.


weird al, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsWeird Al turned parody into a true art form.Giphy

14.

"Frederick Douglass." — kade22

15.

"Betty White." — Diatrial

If you really think about it, everything started going downhill after Betty White passed away at the age of 99. No one had a bad word to say about her. She definitely has a strong case for being included on Mount Rushmore 2.0.

16.

The person who started the thread chimed in with their nominee.

"Neil Armstrong would be my number one." — taint_licking_clown


mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsFunny enough, Buzz Aldrin didn't receive any votes.Giphy

17.

"Harriet Tubman." — 44cksSake

She freed hundreds of slaves during her time as an operator of the Underground Railroad and through other activist work. A remarkable feat for people who otherwise would have continued to suffer unimaginable cruelty.

18.

"Ronnie James Dio!" — kevinthegeek21

If you don't know Ronnie, you probably know him by his greatest achievement: He invented the iconic "devil horns" commonly associated with heavy metal and rock music.

19.

"Maria Darlene Pearson or Hai-Mecha Eunka (lit. 'Running Moccasins') (July 12, 1932 – May 23, 2003) was an activist who successfully challenged the legal treatment of Native American human remains. A member of the Turtle Clan of the Yankton Sioux which is a federally recognized tribe of Yankton Dakota, she was one of the primary catalysts for the creation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Her actions led to her being called 'the Founding Mother of the modern Indian repatriation movement' and 'the Rosa Parks of NAGPRA." — CTeam19

20.

"Danny DeVito." — distantshadow

Alright, DeVito is a legend and all, but we're really starting to stretch here. Even Danny would agree:

danny devito, mount rushmore, greatest american, reddit, presidents, heroes, mt. rushmore, south dakota, legends, iconsDanny DeVito is all set with his current level of fame.Giphy

This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

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Before Rosa Parks, there was Viola Desmond. She's the new face of Canada's $10 bill.

70 years after taking a defiant stance, Desmond's getting the recognition she deserves.

Nearly a decade before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, there was Canadian civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond.

In 1946, Desmond, a Canadian businesswoman, was arrested and fined after she refused to leave the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theater. Her arrest and the legal battle that followed played a key role in Canada's civil rights movement.

Viola Desmond. Photo by Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University/Wanda Robson Collection.

70 years after taking a stand against segregation, Desmond is making history once again as the first woman — who isn't a queen or princess — to appear on Canadian money.

On Thursday, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz announced that Desmond will be featured on the $10 bill beginning in 2018.

"As governor of the bank, I have long believed that it was time for a woman, in addition to Her Majesty, to be on one of Canada’s bank notes," he said during a ceremony. "And we also heard from Canadians who told us that it was long overdue."

(From left) Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz, Minister of Status of Women Patricia Hajdu, Wanda Robson (Desmond's sister), and Minister of Finance Bill Morneau unveil an image of Viola Desmond on Dec. 8, 2016. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Treasury announced some changes of its own, with plans to put Harriet Tubman on the $20.

In April, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced changes to the $5, $10, and $20 bills. The most notable change had Andrew Jackson getting bumped from the front of the $20 to make room for Tubman, abolitionist and "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. Jackson would still appear on the bill, albeit on the back. But for the first time in U.S. history, a black woman would appear on paper currency.

While women have been featured on U.S. money in the past — Martha Washington briefly appeared on the $1 silver certificate in the late 19th century, Pocahontas appeared as part of a group on the back of the $20 bill in 1865, and Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea have appeared on $1 coins — Tubman's spot on the $20 adds some much-needed diversity to the currency.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew visits the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Photo by Chris Taylor, Department of Treasury.

Frustratingly, it's possible that the Tubman $20 bill won't actually happen because of President-elect Donald Trump's resistance to anything he sees as "politically correct."

During an April interview, Trump voiced opposition to inclusion of Tubman on the $20 bill, calling it "pure political correctness," a theme he railed against during his campaign for president.

"Andrew Jackson had a great history, and I think it's very rough when you take somebody off the bill," Trump said on the "Today" show. "I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic, but I would love to leave Andrew Jackson or see if we can maybe come up with another denomination."

Advocates for the Tubman $20 bills are concerned that Trump's Treasury Department may try to change course ahead of plans to unveil the new design in 2020. For now, though, she's still slated to make her monetary debut.

The important thing to remember is the role that women like Desmond, Parks, and Tubman have played in making the world a better, more just place.

Whether it's Tubman's fight against slavery or Parks' and Desmond's battles against segregation, these women are beacons of progress in a world that wanted nothing more than to see them fail. It's important that we continue to recognize them for the work they did and the sacrifices they made.

Whether that recognition takes the form of a spot on a $10 or $20 bill, a stamp, or simply prominent positions in history books and lectures, these women remind us that a better world is worth fighting for, even if that fight is not immediately vindicated.

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Harriet Tubman will be the new face of the $20 bill. And yes, it's a big deal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has announced some major changes coming to paper currency.

America's first Treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton, will remain on the $10 bill (don’t say Broadway never changed anything), but the back of the note will feature leaders of the women's suffrage movement.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

While President Abraham Lincoln will remain on the face of the $5 bill, key figures from the civil rights movement will be prominently featured on the other side.

But the landmark news is that Harriet Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

This will be the first U.S. paper note to feature the portrait of a woman in over 100 years.


Image via National Portrait Gallery/Wikimedia Commons.

Tubman, who escaped slavery and became an abolitionist, returned to the South at least 19 times to free slaves. She went on to lead hundreds of people to freedom along the Underground Railroad, a network of routes and safe houses. During the Civil War, Tubman worked as a spy and nurse for the Union government. After the war, she continued to help black people by turning her home into the Home for Indigent and Aged Negroes.

While the bills won't reach circulation for another decade, this is a huge victory for representation and inclusion.

Dyáni Brown, who long pushed for a woman to appear on the $20, said it best:

GIF via Upworthy/YouTube.

After the $1 and $100 bills, the $20 bill is the third-most widely circulated note.

But Jackson, who booted President Grover Cleveland from the $20 in 1928, has long been a polarizing figure in American history.

Photo by Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images.

In 1830, Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which allowed the U.S. government to forcibly remove thousands of Native Americans from their land. As part of Jackson’s policy, beginning in fall 1838, the Cherokee nation had to hand over their land east of the Mississippi River and migrate more than 2,200 miles to designated “Indian Territory” in present-day Oklahoma. The forced migration, now known as the Trail of Tears, was treacherous. Many faced disease, extreme hunger, and exhaustion. Of the 15,000 who were forced west, nearly 4,000 died along the way.

While there is no reason to continue to honor this man on the face of our money, Jackson will remain on the back of the bill.

People from across the country have been pushing the Treasury Department to remove Jackson from the $20 note and to include a woman on the face of a bill. Now, it's happening in one fell swoop.

Needless to say, the internet is pretty excited about the announcement.

From congressmen...


...and commentators...


...to witty writers...


...and familiar faces.


While most people are heralding the announcement, some argue it’s not the best way to honor Tubman’s legacy.

In a column last year in The Guardian, Steven Thrasher wrote:

"Putting Tubman’s face on the $20 would only obfuscate how much exploitation there is still left to fight in America, among those in prison, nail salons — and those exchanging twenties daily who don’t even know it. We should not let her be used to distract black and brown people from our present economic bondage every time we pay for something."

But when it comes to representation, seeing a woman — particularly a woman of color — in a space we've been kept out of is a major step forward and a milestone worth celebrating.

Hear Dyáni share why she pushed to replace Andrew Jackson with a woman on the $20 bill.

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