II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3383 

To establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New 

York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mr. SCHUMER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park 

in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, 

Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harriet Tubman Na5 tional Historical Park and Harriet Tubman Underground 

6 Railroad National Historical Park Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) Harriet Tubman (born Araminta ‘‘Minty’’ 

4 Ross)— 

5 (A) was born into slavery in Maryland 

6 around 1822; 

7 (B) married John Tubman at age 25; 

8 (C) endured through her youth and young 

9 adulthood the hardships of enslaved African10 Americans; and 

11 (D) boldly emancipated herself from bond12 age in 1849; 

13 (2) not satisfied with attaining her own free14 dom, Harriet Tubman— 

15 (A) returned repeatedly for more than 10 

16 years to the places of her enslavement in Dor17 chester and Caroline Counties, Maryland; and 

18 (B) under the most adverse circumstances 

19 led away many family members and acquaint20 ances to freedom in the northern region of the 

21 United States and Canada; 

22 (3) Harriet Tubman was— 

23 (A) called ‘‘Moses’’ by African-Americans 

24 and white abolitionists; and 

25 (B) acknowledged as one of the most 

26 prominent ‘‘conductors’’ of the resistance that 


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1 came to be known as the ‘‘Underground Rail2 road’’; 

3 (4) in 1868, Frederick Douglass wrote that, 

4 with the exception of John Brown, Douglass knew of 

5 ‘‘no one who has willingly encountered more perils 

6 and hardships to serve our enslaved people’’ than 

7 Harriet Tubman; 

8 (5) during the Civil War, Harriet Tubman— 

9 (A) was recruited to assist Union troops as 

10 a nurse, a scout, and a spy; and 

11 (B) served in Virginia, Florida, and South 

12 Carolina, where she is credited with facilitating 

13 the rescue of hundreds of enslaved people; 

14 (6) Harriet Tubman established in Auburn, 

15 New York, one of the first incorporated homes for 

16 aged African-Americans in the United States, which, 

17 10 years before her death, she bequeathed to the Af18 rican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; 

19 (7) there are nationally significant resources 

20 comprised of relatively unchanged landscapes associ21 ated with the early life of Harriet Tubman in Caro22 line, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland; 

23 (8) there are nationally significant resources re24 lating to Harriet Tubman in Auburn, New York, in25 cluding— 


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1 (A) the residence of Harriet Tubman; 

2 (B) the Tubman Home for the Aged; 

3 (C) the Thompson Memorial AME Zion 

4 Church; and 

5 (D) the final resting place of Harriet Tub6 man in Fort Hill Cemetery; 

7 (9) in developing interpretive programs, the Na8 tional Park Service would benefit from increased 

9 scholarship of the African-American experience dur10 ing the decades preceding the Civil War and 

11 throughout the remainder of the 19th century; and 

12 (10) it is fitting and proper that the nationally 

13 significant resources relating to Harriet Tubman be 

14 preserved for future generations as units of the Na15 tional Park System so that people may understand 

16 and appreciate the contributions of Harriet Tubman 

17 to the history and culture of the United States. 

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

19 (1) to preserve and promote stewardship of the 

20 resources in Auburn, New York, and Caroline, Dor21 chester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, relating to 

22 the life and contributions of Harriet Tubman; 

23 (2) to provide for partnerships with the African 

24 Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the States of New 

25 York and Maryland, political subdivisions of the 


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1 States, the Federal Government, local governments, 

2 nonprofit organizations, and private property owners 

3 for resource protection, research, interpretation, edu4 cation, and public understanding and appreciation of 

5 the life and contributions of Harriet Tubman; 

6 (3) to sustain agricultural and forestry land 

7 uses in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, 

8 Maryland, that remain evocative of the landscape 

9 during the life of Harriet Tubman; and 

10 (4) to establish a competitive grants program 

11 for scholars of African-American history relating to 

12 Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) CHURCH.—The term ‘‘Church’’ means the 

16 Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church located in 

17 Auburn, New York. 

18 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI19 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

20 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

21 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061)). 

23 (3) PREDOMINANTLY BLACK INSTITUTION.— 

24 The term ‘‘Predominantly Black Institution’’ has the 

25 meaning given the term in section 499A(c) of the 


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1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 1099e(c)). 

3 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of the Interior. 

5 (5) VISITOR CENTER.—The term ‘‘Visitor Cen6 ter’’ means the Harriet Tubman Underground Rail7 road State Park Visitor Center to be constructed 

8 under section 5(d). 

9 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HARRIET TUBMAN NATIONAL 

10 HISTORICAL PARK. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—On the execution of ease12 ments with the Church, the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) establish the Harriet Tubman National His14 torical Park (referred to in this section as the ‘‘His15 torical Park’’) in the City of Auburn, New York, as 

16 a unit of the National Park System; and 

17 (2) publish notice of the establishment of the 

18 Historical Park in the Federal Register. 

19 (b) BOUNDARY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Historical Park shall be 

21 comprised of structures and properties associated 

22 with the Harriet Tubman home, the Tubman Home 

23 for the Aged, the Church, and the Rectory, as gen24 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Harriet TubVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:22 Aug 02, 2008 Jkt 069002 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3383.IS S3383

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1 man National Historical Park—Proposed Bound2 ary’’, numbered øllll¿, and dated ølll¿. 

3 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map described 

4 in paragraph (1) shall be available for public inspec5 tion in the appropriate offices of the National Park 

6 Service. 

7 (c) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may ac8 quire from willing sellers, by donation, purchase with do9 nated or appropriated funds, or exchange, land or inter10 ests in land within the boundary of the Historical Park. 

11 (d) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

12 provide grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements 

13 with— 

14 (1) the Church for— 

15 (A) historic preservation of, rehabilitation 

16 of, research on, and maintenance of properties 

17 within the boundary of the Historical Park; and 

18 (B) interpretation of the Historical Park; 

19 (2) the Fort Hill Cemetery Association for 

20 maintenance and interpretation of the gravesite of 

21 Harriet Tubman; and 

22 (3) the State of New York, any political sub23 divisions of the State, the City of Auburn, and non24 profit organizations for— 


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1 (A) preservation and interpretation of re2 sources relating to Harriet Tubman in the City 

3 of Auburn, New York; 

4 (B) conducting research, including archae5 ological research; and 

6 (C) providing for stewardship programs, 

7 education, public access, signage, and other in8 terpretive devices at the Historical Park for in9 terpretive purposes. 

10 (e) INTERPRETATION.—The Secretary may provide 

11 interpretive tours to sites located outside the boundaries 

12 of the Historical Park in Auburn, New York, that include 

13 resources relating to Harriet Tubman. 

14 (f) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

16 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

17 out this subsection, the Secretary, in cooperation 

18 with the Church, shall complete a general manage19 ment plan for the Historical Park in accordance 

20 with section 12(b) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S. 

21 C. 1a–7(b)). 

22 (2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co23 ordinate the preparation and implementation of the 

24 general management plan for the Harriet Tubman 

25 National Historical Park with— 


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1 (A) the Harriet Tubman Underground 

2 Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland; 

3 and 

4 (B) the National Underground Railroad: 

5 Network to Freedom. 

6 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HARRIET TUBMAN UN7 DERGROUND RAILROAD NATIONAL HISTOR8 ICAL PARK. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as a unit 

10 of the National Park System the Harriet Tubman Under11 ground Railroad National Historical Park (referred to in 

12 this section as the ‘‘Historical Park’’) in Caroline, Dor13 chester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland. 

14 (b) BOUNDARY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Histor16 ical Park shall consist of certain landscapes and as17 sociated resources relating to the early life and en18 slavement of Harriet Tubman and the Underground 

19 Railroad, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

20 ‘‘Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National 

21 Historical Park—Proposed Boundary’’, numbered 

22 øllll¿, and dated ølllll¿. 

23 (2) ADDITIONAL SITES.—The Secretary, after 

24 consultation with landowners, the State of Maryland, 

25 and units of local government, may modify the 


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1 boundary of the Historical Park to include addi2 tional resources relating to Harriet Tubman that— 

3 (A) are located within the vicinity of the 

4 Historical Park; and 

5 (B) are identified in the general manage6 ment plan prepared under subsection (g) as ap7 propriate for interpreting the life of Harriet 

8 Tubman. 

9 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—On modification of 

10 the boundary of the Historical Park under para11 graph (2), the Secretary shall make available for 

12 public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 

13 National Park Service a revised map of the Histor14 ical Park. 

15 (c) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may ac16 quire from willing sellers, by donation, purchase with do17 nated or appropriated funds, or exchange, land or an in18 terest in land within the boundaries of the Historical 

19 Park. 

20 (d) GRANTS.—In accordance with section 7(b)(2), the 

21 Secretary may provide grants— 

22 (1) to the State of Maryland, political subdivi23 sions of the State, and nonprofit organizations for 

24 the acquisition of less than fee title (including ease25 ments) or fee title to land in Caroline, Dorchester, 


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1 and Talbot Counties, Maryland, within the boundary 

2 of the Historical Park; and 

3 (2) on execution of a memorandum of under4 standing between the State of Maryland and the Di5 rector of the National Park Service, to the State of 

6 Maryland for the construction of the Harriet Tub7 man Underground Railroad State Park Visitor Cen8 ter on land owned by the State of Maryland in Dor9 chester County, Maryland, subject to the condition 

10 that the State of Maryland provide the Director of 

11 the National Park Service, at no additional cost, suf12 ficient office space and exhibition areas in the Vis13 itor Center to carry out the purposes of the Histor14 ical Park. 

15 (e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

16 provide grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements 

17 with, the State of Maryland, political subdivisions of the 

18 State, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, 

19 and private property owners for— 

20 (1) the restoration or rehabilitation, public use, 

21 and interpretation of sites and resources relating to 

22 Harriet Tubman; 

23 (2) the conduct of research, including archae24 ological research; 


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1 (3) providing stewardship programs, education, 

2 signage, and other interpretive devices at the sites 

3 and resources for interpretive purposes; and 

4 (4)(A) the design and construction of the Vis5 itor Center; and 

6 (B) the operation and maintenance of the Vis7 itor Center. 

8 (f) INTERPRETATION.—The Secretary may provide 

9 interpretive tours to sites and resources located outside 

10 the boundary of the Historical Park in Caroline, Dor11 chester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland, relating to the 

12 life of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. 

13 (g) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

15 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

16 out this subsection, the Secretary, in coordination 

17 with the State of Maryland, political subdivisions of 

18 the State, and the United States Fish and Wildlife 

19 Service, shall complete a general management plan 

20 for the Historical Park in accordance with section 

21 12(b) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S. C. 1a–7(b)). 

22 (2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co23 ordinate the preparation and implementation of the 

24 general management plan for the Historical Park 

25 with— 


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1 (A) the Harriet Tubman National Histor2 ical Park in Auburn, New York; 

3 (B) the National Underground Railroad: 

4 Network to Freedom; 

5 (C) the Maryland Harriet Tubman Under6 ground Railroad State Park; and 

7 (D) the Harriet Tubman Underground 

8 Railroad Byway in Dorchester and Caroline 

9 Counties, Maryland. 

10 (3) PRIORITY TREATMENT.—The general man11 agement plan for the Historical Park shall give pri12 ority to the adequate protection of, interpretation of, 

13 public appreciation for, archaeological investigation 

14 of, and research on Stewart’s Canal, the Jacob 

15 Jackson home site, the Brodess Farm, the Ben Ross 

16 and Anthony Thompson properties on Harrisville 

17 Road, and the James Cook site, all of which are pri18 vately owned and located in the Blackwater National 

19 Wildlife Refuge. 

20 (h) BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.— 

21 (1) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Secretary 

22 shall ensure that, not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the National Park 

24 Service and the United States Fish and Wildlife 

25 Service enter into an interagency agreement that— 


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1 (A) promotes and mutually supports the 

2 compatible stewardship and interpretation of 

3 Harriet Tubman resources at the Blackwater 

4 National Wildlife Refuge; and 

5 (B) provides for the maximum level of co6 operation between those Federal agencies to 

7 further the purposes of this Act. 

8 (2) EFFECT OF ACT.—Nothing in this Act 

9 modifies, alters, or amends the authorities of the 

10 United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the ad11 ministration and management of the Blackwater Na12 tional Wildlife Refuge. 

13 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

15 the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park and the 

16 Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Histor17 ical Park in accordance with this Act and the laws gen18 erally applicable to units of the National Park System in19 cluding— 

20 (1) the National Park Service Organic Act (16 

21 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

22 (2) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 

23 et seq.). 

24 (b) PARK REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding sub25 section (a), regulations and policies applicable to units of 


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1 the National Park System shall apply only to Federal land 

2 administrated by the National Park Service that is located 

3 within the boundary of the Harriet Tubman Underground 

4 Railroad National Historical Park. 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act 

8 (other than subsection (b)), including the provision of Na9 tional Park Service personnel and National Park Service 

10 management funds for the Harriet Tubman National His11 torical Park and the Harriet Tubman Underground Rail12 road National Historical Park. 

13 (b) GRANTS.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated not more than— 

15 (1) $7,500,000 to provide grants to the Church 

16 for— 

17 (A) historic preservation, rehabilitation, 

18 and restoration of resources within the bound19 ary of the Harriet Tubman National Historical 

20 Park; and 

21 (B) the costs of design, construction, in22 stallation, and maintenance of exhibits and 

23 other interpretive devices authorized under sec24 tion 4(d)(1)(B); 


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1 (2) $11,000,000 for grants to the State of 

2 Maryland for activities authorized under subsections 

3 (d)(1) and (e)(4)(A) of section 5; and 

4 (3) $200,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each fis5 cal year thereafter for competitive grants to histori6 cally Black colleges and universities, Predominately 

7 Black Institutions, and minority serving institutions 

8 for research into the life of Harriet Tubman and the 

9 African-American experience during the years that 

10 coincide with the life of Harriet Tubman. 

11 (c) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

12 (1) CHURCH AND VISITOR CENTER GRANTS.— 

13 The Federal share of the cost of activities provided 

14 grants under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b) 

15 and any maintenance, construction, or utility costs 

16 incurred pursuant to a cooperative agreement en17 tered into under section 4(d)(1)(A) or section 5(e) 

18 shall not be more than 50 percent. 

19 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNI20 VERSITIES.—The Federal share of the cost of activi21 ties provided assistance under subsection (b)(3) shall 

22 be not more than 75 percent. 

23 (3) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non24 Federal share required under this subsection may be 


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1 in the form of in-kind contributions of goods or serv2 ices fairly valued. 

Æ 


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