[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5157 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5157

 To amend title 44, United States Code, to ensure preservation of the 
                   records of the Freedmen's Bureau.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2000

    Ms. Millender-McDonald (for herself and Mr. Watts of Oklahoma) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 44, United States Code, to ensure preservation of the 
                   records of the Freedmen's Bureau.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedmen's Bureau Records 
Preservation Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) From 1619 to 1800 more than 660,000 African men, women, 
        and children were torn from their homelands in west Africa and 
        herded onto ships for transport to North America as slaves.
            (2) Between 10 and 15 percent of these Africans died during 
        the journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
            (3) The institution of slavery robbed Africans of their 
        natural rights and divided this Nation over the meaning of 
        freedom, the principle upon which this Nation was founded.
            (4) Paraphrasing President Abraham Lincoln, the Government 
        could not endure permanently half slave and half free.
            (5) The United States waged the Civil War to free the 
        Nation's slaves, preserve the Nation, and embrace all people as 
        citizens regardless of race in a system of inclusive freedom 
        for all.
            (6) On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued 
        the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that individuals 
        held as slaves within the rebellious States ``are, and 
        henceforward shall be free''.
            (7) On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the 
        Confederate Army to General Ulysses S. Grant, thereby ending 
        the Civil War.
            (8) In 1865, the Congress established in the War Department 
        the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly 
        referred to as the ``Freedmen's Bureau'', to supervise and 
        manage all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and to 
        supervise abandoned and confiscated property.
            (9) The records of the Freedmen's Bureau are a vital source 
        of information for historians and genealogists.
            (10) These records contain a wide range of data about the 
        African-American experience during slavery and freedom, 
        including in marriage records, labor contracts, Government 
        rations and back pay records, and indentured contracts for 
        minors.
            (11) These records are maintained in Alabama, Arkansas, the 
        District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
        Maryland, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, 
        South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
            (12) All of these records are originals and, because they 
        are deteriorating, require immediate attention.
            (13) These records are an important link for African-
        Americans to their slave and African ancestors.
            (14) Preserving the records of the Freedmen's Bureau is a 
        high priority for millions of Americans interested in Civil War 
        and post-Civil War era history.

SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF FREEDMEN'S BUREAU RECORDS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 29 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 2910. Preservation of Freedmen's Bureau Records
    ``The Archivist shall preserve the records of the Bureau of 
Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly referred to as the 
`Freedmen's Bureau', by using--
            ``(1) available technology for restoration of the documents 
        comprising these records so that they can be maintained for 
        future generations; and
            ``(2) innovative imaging and indexing technologies to make 
        these records easily accessible to the public, including 
        historians, genealogists, novice genealogy enthusiasts, and 
        students.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 29 of title 44, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``2910. Preservation of freedmen's bureau records.''.
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