In class we began to talk about the artwork on American money and how it was different from other parts of the world. One person said that our money is part of what defines our country and it says “don’t mess with us”. Money can be seen in this way as a sort of argument, but what is our money really saying?
In the movie National Treasure, money and its place in our history was brought up a couple of times. First, when the grandpa references the all Seeing Eye on the one dollar bill, and then when Ben uses a hundred dollar bill to figure out a clue. While all of this is fictional it is still interesting to see money from a historical point of view in this movie.
Even though we deal with money almost every day, most of us don’t really know what is on our money and why it is there. We easily recognize it, use it as our currency, put our trust within it, yet we don’t stop to think about what is on our money.
One Dollar Bill
In the center of our one dollar bill sits George Washington (our first president) who is supposed to represent unity and trust. There is also the U.S. Treasury seal with balancing scales for justice and 13 stars for the 13 original colonies. That is not everything that graces the front of the one dollar bill, but it is the back side that contains the most meaning. The seal that represents America’s ideals was to be placed on the back and designed by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
“The result was the Great Seal of the United States, and hidden within it are the messages our Founding Fathers wanted to send to future generations of Americans. Today, the two most prominent features on the back of the $1 note are the pyramid and the eagle, which together constitute the Great Seal of the United States.”
The Eagle and the Unfinished Pyramid
- The eagle is freely flying holding thirteen arrows and an olive branch. In the left hand the 13 arrows symbolize war and the olive branch in the right hand signifies peace.
- The unfinished pyramid signifies strength and duration and has 13 rows of blocks that have roman numerals representing the number 1776 (the year of independence).
- “Novus Ordo Seclorum” –> “A New Order of the Ages” : this refers to the new form of government and is the beginning of the new American Era
- The Eye is known as the Eye of Providence and it sits atop the pyramid representing wisdom, health, and prosperity.
After reading more about what our money means and how it symbolizes who we are as a country I have more of a respect for it. Lots of people use credit cards now and hardly think about the green pieces of paper they are bypassing even though they have a lot more meaning than the images on credit cards. This article describes more about money and how it has evolved over the years and I think that it is worth reading. http://www.philadelphiafed.org/publications/economic-education/symbols-on-american-money.pdf
Money has lots of symbols, but what does money represent?
There is no gold backing the American dollar and it is only given as much value as the government gives it. Because of that what it represents is very important. It creates relationships between people with debts, payments, jobs, etc. Money is a controlling force in our world and it defines our relationships with other people. It can mean life or death to some people. Happiness or sadness. It dictates how we can live our lives and what we can do. I think that something that powerful should have a meaningful design. Does the currency we have now accurately depict who we are as a nation? Should it be changed and made more colorful?
Questions:
Now that you may know more about the symbolism of American money does it change how you see it or how you will use it in the future?
What does money represent for you? Does it represent inconvenience, life, happiness, relationships?
My comments:
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