On July 9, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, the Harriet Tubman National Historical Parks Act (S. 247). The Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the measure in March 2013 (see The Source, 3/15/13). The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a hearing on similar legislation (H.R. 664) in June 2013 (see The Source, 6/7/13).
Sponsored by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the bill would establish the Harriet Tubman National Park in parts of Maryland and New York. Harriet Tubman is most widely known as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, who led more than 300 slaves from the South to the North. The former slave and abolitionist also served in the Union Army during the Civil War as a cook, nurse, armed scout, and spy.
