One group accepted the challenge of creating constitutional currency this year. Matt, Stacy, Linda, Christina and Gerald focused on representing the primacy of the people in our constitutional system and borrowed a couple of ideas from Cicero to map out their scheme. From an image of the night sky on the back of their proposed twenty dollar bill to an image of Americans from “every walk of life” on the back of their ten dollar bill, this group attempted to design currency that represented the entire constellation of American constitutionalism.
The People on the $20 Bill
Here are Stacy’s thoughts on their work…
“I would say that we tried to represent the primacy of the people by making them a central part of each bill. The picture of people on the Mall, the “faceless” people as the foundation of the building. We were very focused on the visual and symbolic representation of the people. The interactive idea of the bill was in keeping with the times. We actually had a discussion about paper bills becoming obsolete and that people normally pay using plastic. (I haven’t written a check in five years–Germans don’t do that.) So we did discuss the relevancy of the bills in those terms. Like Christina said, people look at the quarters because there is a reason to. They’re new and have something to represent each state on them. We figured that since people are excited about seeing themselves (and like to see famous people–just take a stroll down Hollywood Blvd to validate that idea) combining regular people with historical figures, celebrities, and then possibly current citizens–via the web–would be interactive… The Internet is not going away–might as well maximize it.”
Flip side of $20 bill
The interactive idea included in this scheme allows citizens to submit their own photo via the web. The image of people on the mall in Washington would then include celebrities as well as a selection of the photos submitted online via a proposed website, article1section8.gov. The team imagined this might create as much interest in the new currency as there has been in the new quarters issued in recent years. Other topics of debate for this group included how to represent Federalist and Antifederalist paradigms, how to incorporate the Preamble of the Constitution and how to best include the three branches of government. While Stacy decided to leave these topics to her colleagues to discuss with us as they have time, she pointed to a question for further consideration… what problems might emerge from this scheme?
Michael Bierut, a designer writing for The Atlantic, suggested the design of U.S. currency is something we should all consider. Noting that the first dollar bill issued in 1862 was an “exuberant affair, designed to resemble a formal certificate,” Bierut suggests the back of the current dollar bill looks like “a cake that has been decorated within an inch of its life.” While Beirut had principles of good design in mind rather
The $10 Bill
than constitutional principles, some of the ideas submitted for the Dollar ReDe$sign Project suggest there is an opportunity to communicate more about who we are through our currency.
The By Design blog on the NY Times capitalized on these efforts and proposed the road to economic recovery might lie in economic redesign–not just our currency but all that paperwork for your new mortgage and the explanation of benefits from your healthcare provider. Allison Arieff wants us to consider, “good design can make the nonsensical beautiful. But more importantly, it can make what seems to be nonsense… clear.”
If there is an opportunity to make certain principles more clear through the design of our currency, what do you think should be there?
Flip Side of $10 Bill
When our group began the Constitutional Currency project one thing that we all agreed on was that the bills should reflect the ordinary people and not so much focus should be placed on founders and past presidents. After some discussion, it was decided that a picture of anonymous people on the national mall would be the best way to reflect the people’s primacy. In an attempt to make the currency interactive, we thought it would be a good idea to place founders and other historical people within in the crowd. Each bill would have a serial number much like we have on our present currency. When the holder of a bill identified the historical person, he or she could go to a Website and enter the serial number of the bill and the person found. Each time a person logged into the Website with the correct information, he/she would also be entered into a contest to get his/her picture in the crowd the next time new bills were issued.
While I believe the concept is good, I do agree with Will’s assertion that a picture of people on the national mall in front of the Capitol Building might be misunderstood by people living outside the country. While it is true that the First Amendment gives us the right to assemble and petition our government, this might be misconstrued by non-Americans. Will suggested that we look at a mosaic in Our Lady of Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles. The mosaic portrays saints with modern-day people. Perhaps, it would be better to have a picture of founders and other historical figures interspersed with modern-day Americans. This, I believe, will better convey the idea of the primacy of the people.
Mosaic from Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels (http://www.olacathedral.org/).
The next thing we discussed was the placement of the Preamble. At first, I thought it would be representative if we just placed the most important words of the Preamble on the bill. However, we finally decided to place the entire Preamble with the “tree of life” next to it. On the tree, we placed the amendments that allowed for more participation in our government: 13th, 14th, 15th 17th, 19th 23rd. 24th and 26th. The numbers would appear in red to symbolize the people, knowledge, and blood. One thing that struck me as I was giving my presentation was the symbolism of our covenant as a people. Not only does the Revolutionary War symbolize that covenant, but the covenant is renewed and brought forward by the Civil War, woman’s suffrage movement, and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Were these not “mini revolutions?” They were revolutions whereby the supremacy of the people was expanded. Just as the tree of life, our Constitution is living and growing. Over the past 233 years, the aspirations that were first set forward in the Declaration of Independence and then again in the Constitution of 1789 are being fulfilled. In most other countries, revolution means that another regime takes power. In our country, revolution has given “We the People” more power.
That brings me to one last point. During our last question and answer session with Will, Ben asked how he could make some of his students feel a part of the American story. Most of his students are children of immigrants and many are illegal immigrants. Moreover, unlike the founding fathers and the philosophers who inspired them, Ben’s students are not of European descent. He was wondering how to make them connect to an America that was influenced by European thought. My answer to those students would be that although much of the ideas used in the creation of the United States were inspired by European thinkers, it has been the contributions of countless others of non-European descent that have made this country work. Earlier this summer, I attended a lecture by a professor from a university in Mississippi. The main thesis of the lecture was that by portraying them as victims, text books have added to the perception that non-white peoples (and women) have not been full participants in America. Instead of portraying them as victims, textbooks and teachers should focus on the contributions of these people. We should instill in them how important they and their ancestors have been in fulfilling the aspirations first set forth by our founders in the late 18th century.
I certainly am going to be more attentive to do this in the future. Perhaps if more teachers focus on the contributions of the vast array of people that make up the United States, the next “mini revolution” will bring forth an America that is more accepting of all.
Linda, hi. Thanks for being so thorough in your descriptions of the project. You are great with details! I meant to look up the mural of the saints that was suggested to us. Thanks for providing the link! ~Stacy
You are so welcome, Stacy! Thanks for being first to post. How was your AP conference? I really enjoyed reading your posts on Facebook!
Just updated the post with the pictures Linda provided. Thanks for providing them! I’m going to connect Jerry’s post to this one so his readers can find their way back to the pictures too.