JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) - Cari White of the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce wants to help put the face of former U.S. Sen. Hattie Caraway on the face of the $10 bill.
Caraway’s position as the first elected female senator and her role in the women’s rights movement, farmers’ rights and New Deal policies were the driving reasons for a campaign, White said in the announcement.
“She was a pioneering woman in Arkansas,” White told The Jonesboro Sun (https://bit.ly/1TP67mE ). “For Arkansas at that time, it was an amazing feat.”
The U.S. Treasury Department announced a campaign to replace Alexander Hamilton on the bill in 2020. The date lines up with the 100-year anniversary of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote. A means of measuring popular candidates will be the amount of use of the Twitter hashtag “TheNew10” with a candidate’s name. White aims to launch a social media campaign to get the state and nation involved.
“The goal is to get every Arkansan onboard, especially those in Northeast Arkansas,” she said.
Caraway settled in Jonesboro and was appointed to the position in 1931 after the death of her husband, Thaddeus Caraway. After garnering the support of the famous Louisiana politician Huey Long, she became the first woman elected to the Senate in 1932 in a special election and ran successfully for re-election in 1938. She served from 1931-1945 before being defeated by J. William Fulbright in her second re-election campaign. She continued to serve in appointed positions until her death in 1950.
Arkansas State University announced its support of the idea on Twitter, citing the senator’s role in keeping the university open during and following the Great Depression.
College spokesman Bill Smith supports the idea and thinks the deep connection between the area and Caraway is undeniable.
“She is the namesake of the roads that lead into this university. I support the idea, absolutely,” he said.
Caraway’s importance is a factor ASU history professor Gary Edwards is sure of.
“Until there is a female president, then it can be safely argued that she is one of the most important and most powerful women in U.S. history,” Edwards said.
Edwards said the biggest obstacle is name recognition.
“If you look at it that way it’s hard to beat out people like Elanor Roosevelt,” he said. “I would give Roosevelt the edge, but Caraway definitely deserves it as well.”
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Information from: The Jonesboro Sun, https://www.jonesborosun.com
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