Op-Ed Calls for Elizabeth Hamilton on $10 Bill–but Harriet Tubman Will Grace the $20 Instead

Since last summer, many Americans have called for a woman to replace one of the men currently pictured on U.S. currency. The $10 was due for revision first, owing to the Treasury’s efforts to make bills more resistant to counterfeiting. That would have meant booting Alexander Hamilton–the first Secretary of the Treasury–off the $10 bill. Awkward. …

New article on Smithsonian.com: Alexander Hamilton’s Wife Deserves Her Own Musical

For Smithsonian.com, I wrote a profile of Alexander Hamilton’s widow, Elizabeth Hamilton. Now a memorable character (played by Phillipa Soo)  in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical “Hamilton,” Elizabeth was far more than a bit player at the founding of American democracy. After Alexander died in his famous duel, she founded and led New York City’s first orphanage, …