Question

Examine the claim/debate that John Hanson, 1721-1783 (a presiding officer of the Continental Congress) who is pictured as one of the men on the back of the $2.00 bill is an African-American. Explain if this can be proven or disproved.

Answer 1

There are a lot of myths about the $2.00 bill. Some believe that there are so few of the bill made because John Hanson (1791-?), a black Liberian senator, is portrayed on the back of the bill. Evidence suggests that this John Hanson is portrayed on the back of the bill, but is not the same as the John Hanson  (1721-1783) that is a presiding officer of the Continental Congress. Supposedly, the John Hanson from the Continental Congress is from an earlier era than the black Liberian senator. John Hanson, the black Liberian senator" is believed to be portrayed on the $2 bill because it wasn't commercially introduced until 1839. This cannot be proven because there are strong claims to both sides of the argument. However, in the original painting, there is no black man.