Lisa lawler teacher harriet tubman 1999 mercury

by Lisa Hansel

Lisa Hansel is director of Knowledge Matters, a new campaign to restore wonder and excitement to the classroom by building broad knowledge in science, social studies, and the arts.

Previously, she was the communications director for Core Knowledge and the editor of American Educator, the magazine of education research and ideas published by the American Federation of Teachers.

Harriet Tubman will grace the front of our $20 bill—a long overdue tribute to a woman who lived up to the best of American values.

But do most Americans know who she was? Anecdotal evidence and test scores indicate that they don’t.

This is not some footnote figure that only historians should know. Tubman repeatedly displayed astounding courage—and achieved heroic successes—in two of our nation’s greatest fights for freedom and equality: ending slavery and giving women the right to vote.

But perhaps this widespread ignorance is not our fellow citiz