![]() ![]() Surely the legislators who in 1866 decried the possibility of traitors being featured on federal currencies would be baffled by the choice of Davis. Indeed, the pitfalls of the good-people-on-both-sides approach was strikingly illustrated in a 1995 pane of 20 stamps commemorating the Civil War, which included both Abraham Lincoln, the president of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. Heritage Images/Hulton Archive via Getty Images The 15-cent Abraham Lincoln stamp was first issued in 1866, one year after his assassination. If you do not pick a side, we argue, then how can citizens know which behaviors or positions are undemocratic? People with pronounced political views of whatever stripe can be unhappy with choices that seem to represent their opponents.Ī different critique we develop in our book is that apolitical diversity allows the Postal Service to abdicate the responsibility of illustrating what democracy should look like. Nonetheless, the current diversity of the cast of characters appearing on U.S. ![]() So it is no surprise that when the Post Office established the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee in 1957 to make recommendations to the postmaster general about future designs for stamps, it decreed that its deliberations be kept secret. The politics of representationĭespite these clear ideals, the question of representation has dogged postal portraits. The idea remains, though, that unlike King Charles III, they did not ascend to the office of president, but earned it due to their contribution to the democratic ideals of the United States. The only figures guaranteed a stamp are presidents, who become eligible for this honor one year after their death. In all these cases, history, not heredity, determined who appeared. Massimo Vernicesole/iStock via Getty Images Washington became one of America’s greatest educators and political figures. ![]()
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