(03/14/10) -

Americans Split on Placing Reagan on $50 Bill

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A proposal to place Ronald Reagan’s likeness on all $50 bills has divided views in the United States, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 41 per cent of respondents support the idea, while 39 per cent oppose it.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A proposal to place Ronald Reagan’s likeness on all $50 bills has divided views in the United States, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 41 per cent of respondents support the idea, while 39 per cent oppose it.

Reagan—a Republican who governed from 1981 to 1989—had been an actor prior to his victory in the 1966 California gubernatorial election. During his two terms in office, Reagan endeavoured to reduce government spending and to lower taxes during a time of high unemployment and inflation in the U.S. While credited for launching several anti-drug campaigns, the president was also criticized for failing to acknowledge the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

Earlier this month, Republican North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry called for all $50 bills printed from the start of 2011 to feature Reagan’s likeness, declaring, "Every generation needs its own heroes. 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 [Franklyn D.] Roosevelt and [John F.] Kennedy."

At this time, the $50 bill features a portrait of Ulysses S. Grant, who led the Union Army during the American Civil War and served as president from 1869 to 1877.

John Marszalek—executive director and managing editor of the Ulysses S. Grant Association at Mississippi State University—disagreed with McHenry’s proposal, saying, "There wouldn’t be a United States without Ulysses S. Grant, you could argue, because of the Civil War and the tremendous military leader he was even before he became president. I don’t think it’s a good idea because U.S. Grant was the president who was in the White House at a time when the currency was under tremendous stress because of the Civil War."

Polling Data

A congressman has introduced the "President Ronald Reagan $50 Bill Act", which stipulates that that all $50 bills printed from the start of 2011 "shall bear the likeness of President Ronald Wilson Reagan." Do you support or oppose this bill?

Complete Poll (PDF)