Video After The Jump
Retired neurosurgeon and failed Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson stirred up a hornet's nest Wednesday, April 20, when he was asked his opinion about Harriet Tubman replacing America's seventh president and slave owner, Andrew Jackson, on the $20 bill.
Ben Carson talks about Harriet Tubman beginning at the 4:00 mark
"Well I think Andrew Jackson was a tremendous secretary — I mean a tremendous president,” Carson said Wednesday on Fox Business. “I mean, Andrew Jackson was the last president who actually balanced the federal budget, where we had no national debt."
"And here he gets kicked off the $20 bill," host Neil Cavuto said.
"Right, in honor of that we kick him off of the money,” Carson said, though Jackson is expected to stay on the back of the bill.
“Are you anti-Harriet Tubman?” Cavuto asked.
"I love Harriet Tubman. I love what she did, but we can find another way to honor her. Maybe a $2 bill,” Carson said.
Harriet Tubman freed hundreds of slaves in the 1800's
When informed of Carson's comments Rosa Parks' niece, Sheila Keys, told TMZ that he "needs surgery on his brain" and clearly puts zero historical value on Tubman's contributions to America.
Despite a $40,000 reward being offered for her capture Tubman made 19 trips into slave country by 1860, helping to free hundreds as the leader of The Underground Railroad.
Famous author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, "Excepting John Brown -- of sacred memory -- I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than [Harriet Tubman]."
Frederick Douglass
Tubman became known as "Moses."
What do you think of Ben Carson's comments?
Sources: New York Times, TMZ, PBS, Biography.com, Associated Press
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