Ulysses S. Grant: A Photographic History

Each year the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site honors the memory of Dr. John Y. Simon. This year’s lecturer is James Bultema, president of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and Presidential Library in Starkville, MS.

Grant was the most photographed American of the 19th century. Pulling from 45 years of researching and collecting images of Grant, Bultema brings an American icon to life. It is important to see Grant not merely as a printed image but also as a person coping with the ups and downs life throws at us. How did the battles and pressure of the Civil War and his presidency shape him?

To get close to Grant, to understand his decisions, we need to listen to him, to examine his thoughts as written to his best friends, family, and especially his wife, Julia. It is then that Grant morphs from a stiff figure in front of a camera to a warm human being expressing his innermost feelings. Presenting Grant’s thoughts to accompany each photograph, James Bultema reveals the true image of Ulysses S. Grant.

This program is free, but reservations are required.