[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1743 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1743

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Harriet Tubman, in 
 recognition of her contributions and lifelong commitment in the fight 
 for freedom of enslaved men, women, and children in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 13, 2015

    Ms. Clarke of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Harriet Tubman, in 
 recognition of her contributions and lifelong commitment in the fight 
 for freedom of enslaved men, women, and children in the United States.

    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 ``Harriet `Moses' Tubman Congressional 
Gold Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) An integral part of the fight for abolition of slavery, 
        Harriet Tubman, was born into slavery as Araminta ``Minty'' 
        Harriet Ross in Dorchester County, Maryland, to Harriet ``Rit'' 
        Green and Ben Ross.
            (2) Neither an exact year nor exact location of her birth 
        is known as is the case with many slaves in the United States, 
        but historians estimate her birth year to be around 1820.
            (3) Araminta's hardships began early with the fracturing of 
        her family as three of her eight siblings were sold to distant 
        plantations in addition to enduring physical violence that 
        caused permanent injuries from: scars, seizures, headaches, and 
        narcoleptic episodes with intense dream states.
            (4) Many historians believe that the story of Araminta's 
        mother, Rit, hiding her younger brother ``Moses'' with the aid 
        of other slaves and free blacks in the community from a Georgia 
        slave trader to be the pivotal example of resistance that would 
        drive her actions in the future.
            (5) Furthermore, the meaning of freedom was ambiguous and 
        unsecure as Araminta's father, Ben, through an act of 
        manumission in a former owner's will was technically freed at 
        the age of 45.
            (6) Despite Ben's freedom and the manumission stipulations 
        that applied to his wife and their children, Ben held little 
        clout to challenge the owners that chose not to free his family 
        and had no choice but to continue working for his former 
        owners.
            (7) Around 1844, Araminta married a freedman named John 
        Tubman, took her mother's first name Harriet, and began 
        planning her escape from slavery.
            (8) In the cover of night guided by the North Star, Harriet 
        escaped by traveling nearly 90 miles to Pennsylvania in 1849 by 
        means of the Underground Railroad, a well-organized network 
        guided by White abolitionists, freed, and enslaved Blacks.
            (9) The following year, the U.S. Congress passed the 
        Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 that called for both ``slave'' and 
        ``free'' States' law enforcement to report runaway slaves for 
        capture.
            (10) Nevertheless, Harriet did not yield to the growing 
        danger and risked her own newly acquired freedom to return to 
        free her family and other slaves while redirecting the 
        Underground Railroad to Canada, which prohibited slavery.
            (11) Harriet's leadership and courage earned her the 
        nickname of ``Moses'' as she facilitated the freedom of many 
        slaves and would also encounter other historical figures such 
        as abolitionist John Brown and likely Frederick Douglass.
            (12) During the Civil War, Harriet would have many roles 
        working for the Union Army which included using her experience 
        to act as an armed scout and spy.
            (13) Harriet was the first woman in the Civil War to lead 
        an armed expedition, which liberated more than 700 slaves 
        during the Combahee River Raid in South Carolina earning her 
        the moniker ``General Tubman''.
            (14) In 1859, Republican abolitionist U.S. Senator William 
        H. Seward sold Harriet a piece of land on the outskirts of 
        Auburn, New York.
            (15) Harriet's home in Auburn would remain her haven for 
        family and friends following the war with a portion of the 
        property donated to the African Methodist Episcopal Church 
        where the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged opened in 1908.
            (16) Harriet's efforts for equality did not cease as she 
        became an advocate to the cause of women's suffrage.
            (17) In 1913, Harriet's death was commemorated with 
        military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York.
            (18) In 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law the 
        National Defense Authorization Act for 2015, which included a 
        provision establishing a Harriet Tubman National Historical 
        Park.
            (19) It is befitting that Congress bestow the highest 
        civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to Harriet 
        ``Moses'' Tubman, posthumously in honor of her work on behalf 
        of civil rights, her selflessness, resilience to adversity, and 
        actions during the Civil War that would save the lives of 
        hundreds.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make 
appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of 
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of 
Harriet Tubman, in recognition of her contributions and lifelong 
commitment in the fight for freedom of enslaved men, women, and 
children in the United States.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
    (c) Award of Medal.--Following the award of the gold medal in 
commemoration of Harriet Tubman under subsection (a), the medal shall 
be given to the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New 
York, her final resting place, where it shall be available for display 
or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, as appropriate.

SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such regulations as the 
Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost 
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
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