According to a posting on Talking Points Memo yesterday,

“Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) introduced a bill yesterday that would bump Ulysses S. Grant -- our 18th president and Civil War hero -- from the $50 bill in favor of Ronald Reagan -- our 40th president and Republican hero.

“McHenry said of the legislation:

“President Reagan was a modern day statesman, whose presidency transformed our nation's political and economic thinking. Through both his domestic and international policies he renewed America's self confidence, defeated the Soviets and taught us that each generation must provide opportunity for the next.

"Every generation needs its own heroes," he added. "One decade into the 21st century, it's time to honor the last great president of the 20th and give President Reagan a place beside Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy."

I respectfully disagree that Grant should be replaced on our currency and hope folks who agree with my disagreement will make their voices known.

My opposition is primarily because of my new found awareness and respect for Ulysses S. Grant.

As you may have seen from my mini book review (Click Here), I recently finished Jean Edward Smith’s biography, Grant. His book makes a powerful argument that Grant was one of our great Presidents.

While Grant’s been mostly known and appreciated for his military accomplishments, Smith details the eight years of Grant’s presidency and explains why he believes Grant should be equally appreciated for his accomplishments as president.

I won’t review those here, but I believe Smith’s careful and balanced treatment of Grant’s eight years in the White House makes a powerful case for a new respect for that part of Grant’s service to the country.

And as such, I don’t believe he should be removed from his place on our US currency.

My view is not based on an anti-Reagan stance. And I don’t want to start an argument about which president is greater, etc. Plus, they are both Republican presidents. So this is not a Democrat vs Republican issue.

I simply think Rep. McHenry should find another way to recognize Pres. Reagan if he feels that is necessary.

After all, there is already an airport named after Pres. Reagan in Washington as well as the second largest building in the nation’s capital. So he is not without national recognition.

However, if Rep. McHenry would prefer to trade the airport name for the place on the $50 bill, that might be a different story.

Anyway, I have a petition underway to stop the removal of Grant from the $50 bill.

If you have a Twitter account and you agree with leaving Grant where he is, go to http://act.ly/1r8 and you can easily add your name to the petition.

You can also Add a Comment below, and I will do my best to pass it on to the powers that be.

Thanx.

UPDATE - 3/14/10: Sean Wilentz, author of The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 and a professor of history at Princeton, published an article today in the NY Times on this very topic. If you’re interested in pursuing this issue just a bit more, Click Here.