This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States and Commander of the U.S. Army during the Civil War. 2022 also marks 100 years since the dedication of the Grant Memorial, located outside of the U.S. Capitol. During this event hosted by U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, in collaboration with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, we will celebrate Grant’s contributions that saved the Republic; and we will discuss modern historians’ reexamination of the man once held in equal-esteem with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

About the Speakers:

The Honorable Roy Blunt, U.S. Senator for Missouri

Building on a background as a public servant, university president, and teacher, United States Senator Roy Blunt was elected to the United States Senate in 2010. Senator Blunt serves as the Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and as the Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee. He also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He is also the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

The Honorable J. Brett Blanton, 12th Architect of the Capitol

On December 9, 2019, J. Brett Blanton was nominated to serve as the 12th Architect of the Capitol. On December 20, 2019, the United States Senate confirmed Mr. Blanton, and on January 16, 2020, he was sworn in as Architect of the Capitol by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. In his role as Architect of the Capitol, Mr. Blanton is responsible for facilities maintenance and operation of the historic U.S. Capitol Building, the care and improvement of more than 570 acres of grounds and the operation and maintenance of 18.4 million square feet of buildings including: the House and Senate Congressional Office Buildings, the Capitol Visitor Center, the Library of Congress Buildings, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building and other facilities. He is responsible for the care of all works of art in the Capitol under the direction of the Joint Committee on the Library and is responsible for the maintenance and restoration of murals, outdoor sculpture and other architectural elements throughout the Capitol complex. Read more about Mr. Blanton here.

Ronald C. White, Ph.D.

Ronald C. White is the author of two New York Times bestselling presidential biographies. American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant [2016] won the 2017 William Henry Seward Award for “Excellence in Civil War Biography.” He is also the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography [2009]. The New York Times Book Review wrote of American Ulysses: “White delineates Grant’s virtues better than any author before. . . . By the end, readers will see how fortunate the nation was that Grant went into the world—to save the Union, to lead it and, on his deathbed, to write one of the finest memoirs in all of American letters.” Read more about Dr. White here.

The Honorable Jane L. Campbell, President/CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society

Jane L. Campbell, the first and to date only woman to serve as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, is now the President and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, the congressionally chartered nonprofit dedicated to sharing, in a manner that inspires “informed patriotism,” the stories of the people, art, and architecture of the U.S. Capitol. From 2009-13 Campbell served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), leading efforts to recover from both Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. In 2014 Campbell became Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where she directed policy to support small businesses’ access to capital, federal contracting opportunities, business counseling, and engagement in international trade. Later, as Senior Advisor to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Campbell led the committee’s work on access to capital and women’s entrepreneurship. Campbell continues to serve as Senior Advisor at the International Economic Development Council, the country’s largest organization of economic development professionals, on the Boards of the Lincoln Land Policy Institute and the Faith and Politics Institute, and is an Elder at National City Christian Church. She’s the proud momma of a resident doctor and a Yale divinity graduate. Just recently she got her favorite title yet – grandma.