Petition to President George W. Bush and the United States Congress

Dear President Bush and Leaders of Congress,

As citizens of the United States of America we hereby affirm that:

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest moral leaders of the twentieth century. His vision of compassion, nonviolence and freedom is as necessary today as it was more than four decades ago.

King symbolizes the triumph of love over hatred, of nonviolence over violence, and of community values over money values.

Andrew Jackson never deserved to be on the twenty-dollar bill. As a slave trader, Indian hunter, and President, Jackson is famous for Indian Removal Act that evicted 70,000 Native Americans from their homes so their land could be used for slave plantations. The Act led directly to the infamous Trail of Tears, where four thousand Cherokee men, women and children died in a forced march west.

The Supreme Court went so far as to declare the Indian Removal Act illegal. But after Chief Justice John Marshall handed down the decision Jackson brazenly disobeyed it and thus violated the constitution.

We urge you to pass and sign legislation into law that replaces Andrew Jackson with Martin Luther King, Jr. on the twenty-dollar bill.

Signed: