Analysis+of+the+U.S.+Dollar

=Our Analysis of the Dollar=

 A nation’s currency says a lot about its people. By examining the currency of a nation one can garner information concerning the values and philosophies of that society. Here, the currency of the United States of America is examined. Specifically, the one dollar bill will be scrutinized to determine how what is represented on the bill is representative of the people who use it.

First, the symbols depicted on the dollar will be examined. The overwhelming themes of American currency are religion and government. While Chinese currency attempts to unify its people by incorporating a wide range of religious and philosophical symbols alongside cultural implications that appeal to many, the American dollar does the exact opposite. The dollar appeals to educated white Christians and centers on the federal government as being the unifying force. The overall feel of the currency is one of power, strength and stability. These are the same ideas the American nation wants the individual to have towards his/her country. In this way, the forefathers set out to publicly declare the permanence of the new nation, which has resulted in an intrinsic sense of permanence within the American people. While the other nations depict unifying and diverse images on their currencies, the United States does not. The Iranian Rial, for example, depicts workers on the back of one of its banknotes while the only individuals depicted on American currency are dead white Presidents. This essentially promotes these Presidents to a demi-god status, while completely ignoring the varied ethnic and cultural groups found within the nation. The currency is also almost completely devoid of any artistry. Although the newer banknotes have some color, they still cannot be considered "flashy" when compared to other world currencies. This absence of modern decoration further emphasizes the historical side of the nation. Obviously, the currency does have some decoration, but these adornments appear to be of an older, almost Victorian style. Even the script found on the currency is severely formal. Iranian and Chinese currencies both include languages other than the native language on their currencies. This is not so with American currency, which is interesting because of its melting-pot status. Perhaps this goes hand-in-hand with only depicting staunch white, Christian Presidents and appealing to the educational elites.

Another interesting fact about the American dollar is that, since it emphasizes traditional history over modern individuals, most Americans probably will not understand the iconography. They may recognize the White House and the Presidents, but the Masonic pyramid and the Latin will not hold any special significance for more than but a few. The various images on the backs of the Chinese yuan hold powerful significance for a wide range of Chinese citizens, and Queen Elizabeth II (and the Monarchy in general) still plays an important role in British national identity. However, the majority of American citizens will not identify with the Masons (largely due to the selective hierarchal Christian belief system that is the foundation of the Masons). Essentially, American currency appeals to and represents only a select few of its citizens while emphasizing the federal government. The eagle on the back of the dollar, for example, is covered by a shield depicting the first thirteen states and holds in its claws holly branches representing peace and arrows representing war. These are all references, in some way, to the federal government, whose role is to protect its people in times of war and to promote peace; the shield with the first 13 states depicted on it represents the idea that the United States is created by the government and the people are shielded by the government. These were perhaps the original meanings behind the symbols, but modern Americans have altered the idea. Now the nation has taken the Latin "Novus Ordo Seclorum" (meaning "The New Order of the Ages") to refer to the world-power status of the United States and its role as international policeman. The holly branches and arrows have also been reinterpreted to support this notion. Furthermore, the Latin "Annuit Coeptus" ("He Approves Our Undertakings") most likely first referred to the Revolution. During that time, revolt against the British monarchy was considered by some to be against the will of God. Many believed the monarch was in power due to a divine will (i.e. the monarch was supported by God), consequently making a revolt against God's will. The early forefathers and the revolutionaries who followed them believed that it was God's will for the American people to be free. In modern times, many still believe that God has endowed the United States with certain rights and that God supports the international policeman policy of the United States government.

 In addition to the importance of the symbols on the American dollar is the use of color. One color in particular dominates American currency: green. In fact, so well known is this color that one slang term for money in the States is actually “green.” This color is also often a symbol of life and vitality. Perhaps by choosing green when printing the first bills, the US sought to symbolize youthful vigor of the nation. Today, it conveys a similar tone of continued growth.

Of course, the sole use of the colors green and beige automatically negate the possibility of other colors appearing on American banknotes. In fact, American dollars are conspicuously devoid of color compared to many other currencies, whose bills might even be termed “flashy” with their bright and varied color scheme. Yet it is this non-flashy image that the United States seeks to present to the world. The lack of color connotes a feeling of respectability and trust, just as a businessman in a black suit and conservative tie would exude a much more serious air than a businessman dressed in a Hawaiian print shirt and shorts. Traditionally, the dollar has been one of the strongest currencies in the world and thus forms a standard by which many other currencies are measured. Major world resources such as oil are priced in American dollars. (It must be noted, though, that the dollar has recently weakened worldwide with the onset of deep economic recession and growing national debt. Whether or not the world will continue to perceive US currency as strong and resilient remains in question.)

U.S. paper currency is different from other currencies in that its main goal seems to be to promote it democratic government. The U.S. dollar is laden with democratic iconography — portraits of founding fathers and former presidents, images of important government buildings and monuments in Washington DC, etc. Other currencies our group analyzed feature images of historic figures and structures: the British Pound carries images as varied as Charles Darwin, composer Edward Elgar and economist Adam Smith. The Russian Ruble almost exclusively features images of buildings and other structures that seem to celebrate Russian ingenuity and industry. Unlike the Pound, the people on the dollar are all American presidents or figures linked to the nation’s founding. And unlike the Ruble, the structures that appear on the dollar are all in the capital and carry strong symbolic connections to American democracy: the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Treasury Building, etc. Although these are all real government structures and political figures, they are meaningful for what they represent. They are visual projections of American power and the democratic ideology our culture employs to justify that power.

It is important to not only examine what the dollar means to its citizens, but also how an outsider would view the dollar. At first blush the Dollar Bill is a green and beige note of different proportions than most of the world's currencies. The green is a hue that is rarely seen in other monies or prints and seems to denote a singularity reserved for American currnecy alone. The Dollar is dominated by three images: that of an Egyptian monument, an eagle assuming an unnatural stance for a bird of prey, and an engraving of an eighteenth century senior citizen. Eight depictions of the number "1" appear on the note, as well as three written references to its value, so no visitor would be likely to be mistake its denomination. The engraving of George Washington might be familiar to some visitors as he is one of the most memorable of America's founders, but to others unfamiliar with Washington his clothing, hair and flat affect might suggest a disconnected and uninterested federal presence in the lives of the nation's citizenry. Those visitors familiar with the lengthy unchanged appearance of the dollar might well associate it with stability and with a link to the past, particularly to the founding of the nation. The iconography and the Latin phrases on the reverse of the note may appear to be a part of a by-gone era. Those links to the past may communicate to the visitor the notion of that the American government is static and caught up in its own designation as a superpower, unchanging in a changing world. The inclusion of the phrase "In God We Trust" may give visitors some degree of pause as the visitor considers that the United States prides itself upon the separation of Church and State. Similarly the arrangement of the stars above the eagle’s head forms a Star of David, the most recognizable symbol of Judaism. The Latin phrase "Annuit Coeptis" roughly translates to "He Approves of Our Undertaking", no doubt referring to the Deity represented by the "All Seeing Eye" above the apex of the uncompleted pyramid, a relic from ancient Egyptian religions. Doubtlessly a visitor to America would hold the belief after examining the Dollar that the currency has spiritual connotations. With the recent popularity of conspiracy books and movies some visitors may see the dollar bill to be a symbol of some unseen power which controls events outside of the public eye.

Finally, there is, in a sense, a political incongruence about the images on U.S. currency. On one hand, it is replete with images that carry symbolic connections to American conceptions of democracy — a system whereby government power is derived from the people. At the same time, the words and images on the dollar emphasize centralized government power. Other currencies we studied feature images related to civil society: Iranian currency carries images related to Islam; the British Pound celebrates figures who made lasting contributions to the arts, economics and science. Far more than even China — a country whose government, by American standards, is extremely centralized and wholly undemocratic — American currency is dominated by images that project the power of the national government. All the structures on the American currency are government monuments and buildings located in Washington DC. The seals of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank, the bold text in “The United States of America, the signatures of the secretary of the treasury and the treasurer of the United States, the seal of the United States, and other elements reinforce the presence of “officialdom” on the dollar.