Welcome to the classic Mount Rushmore National
Memorial. The memorial shows four US presidents who all played key roles in the first 150
years of the history of the United States. The mountain has gotten its name from Charles
E Rushmore, a New York lawyer and prospector who searched the mountain for minerals during
the late 19th century. The history of the memorial itself started in 1923, when the
historian Doane Robinson got the idea to promote tourism in South Dakota by creating a large
sculpture on Mount Rushmore. The main sculpter, Gutzon Borglum, and his 400 workers began
the work on the colossal carvings in October, 1927. It was decided that the sculpture would
depict four US presidents who all played major parts in the preservation and expansion of
the United States. I will give you some more in depth info of these men in just a while.
When the carving of the sculptures started in 1927, the first on the line was the man
you can see to the far left; George Washington. George Washington was born in 1732 in Westmoreland
County, Virginia. He embarked on a career as a planter and became the owner of a fairly
large estate. Through his half brother, Lawrence Washington, he got involved in the military
and served during the British-French war as a militia officer.
After the war had ended, he quickly went back to the business life and his plantations.
It was only after Britain forced more and more laws and acts over the colonies that
George Washington got into politics. But when he did, he acquired a leading position right
away as he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. When the first
fighting began in 1775, Washington, with his military experience, his charisma and his
reputation of being a strong patriot, was elected commander-in-chief for the Continental
Army. Later when the war was won, he became the first United States president when he
was unanimously elected in 1789. The Washington Sculpture was dedicated to the public on Independence
Day, 1934. Next one on the line was the man you can see
next to Washington; Thomas Jefferson. The Jefferson sculpture was originally placed
to the left of Washington, not at its current right position. Halfway through the sculpting,
Borglum discovered that the stone quality became worse the further in they worked. This
eventually forced them to blast the Jefferson sculpture off and instead start again on the
right side of Washington. If you look to the left of Washington, you will see the big hole
the explosions left. So who was Thomas Jefferson? Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia year
1743. Already at the age of nine, Jefferson began studying French, Greek and Latin. Through
his college years he also studied mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy, finishing all
classes with excellent grades. Thomas Jefferson was known for his diverse interests and high
intelligence. After finishing his studies, Jefferson began working as a lawyer while
he at the same time became active as a Virginian politician. He protested against the new laws
and acts the British rule imposed on the colonies. Jefferson argued that the colonists had the
natural right to govern themselves. Soon after the outbreak of the American War of Independence,
Jefferson was made responsible for creating the famous Declaration of Independence.
The declaration of Independence is what Jefferson is most famous for. He did however have a
rich political career following his declaration, where became a Virginian Governor, later Minister
to France, Vice President and finally President. Jefferson died on the 4th of July 1826. By
then he could look back on his life as a large land owner, political philosopher, architect,
musician, book collector, scientist, horticulturist, diplomat, inventor and third President of
the United States. He is by many held as the most intelligent and intellectual US president
of all times. Jefferson's sculpture on Mount Rushmore was dedicated in 1936.
The next sculpture on the line was the one to the far right, the one depicting Abraham
Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 on a small
farm south of Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was raised in a poor home, being the son of two
uneducated farmers. Abraham himself however, quickly developed an interest in studies.
While his formal education consisted of about 18 months of schooling from unofficial teachers,
he still mastered the Bible, William Shakespeare's works, English history and American history.
He was very much self educated, reading every book he could get his hands on. He soon developed
a plain writing and rhetorical style that puzzled audiences. This brought him into politics
at the age of 23, when he became a member of the Whig party, and later elected to a
term is the US House of Representatives in 1846. With his unorthodox rhetorical style
he made both enemies and friends and left the politics after one term and began working
as a lawyer. He later returned to politics, and this time got a much more central role,
as he won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president the same
year. Lincoln's hatred for slavery made the already strained relation between the northern
and southern states even more problematic. The civil war broke out the very next year.
Throughout the civil war, Lincoln was the political leader for the Union and his leadership
qualities helped to preserve the Unites States to what it is today. Lincoln is most known
for issuing his Emancipation Proclamation and his contribution in passing the Thirteenth
Amendment which permanently abolished slavery in the US. In 1865, shortly after the war
was won, Lincoln was assassinated while watching a theatre act. This made him a martyr for
the ideal of national unity and he's today one of the most famous and highly ranked of
all US presidents. The sculpture of Lincoln was dedicated in 1937.
The last president, the second from the right, is Theodore Roosevelt.
As the face of Roosevelt was being sculpted, Borglum and his worker had problems finding suitable rock,
which forced them deeper into the mountain. Luckily, they didn't have to go too far before
finding rock they were able to sculpt on. This is the reason why, as you can see, Roosevelt's
sculpt is place far behind the other three. Roosevelt's head was dedicated in 1939.
When constructing the sculptures, Borglum used dynamites in an innovative way, which
helped remove large amounts of rocks relatively quickly and inexpensively. Around 90 percent
of all removed granite was blown off using dynamite. The more detailed work was done
using drills, chisels and hammers, finished off by a special pneumatic drill which provided
a smooth surface. When construction the sculptures, huge amounts of granite was removed from the
mount, which is evident by the huge granite pile you can see below the memorial.
Even though the memorial is of huge proportions, much attention has been giving to detail.
The irises of the eyes were sculpted as holes with a cube of granite were left inside to
represent the reflection highlight. This is why the eyes of the presidents look so alive
and realistic. If you have access to a binocular and take a close look at the sculpture of
Roosevelt, you will see that even his characteristic glasses are present.
The majority of the workers were experienced mountaineers, often former miners and rock
climbers. This was probably one reason why not even a single worker died during the project,
something rather unusual back then for a project of this size.
With the completion of the face of Roosevelt in 1939, the memorial looked much like it
does today. Borglum's plans for Mount Rushmore did however include much more than just the
faces of the presidents. The original plan was to sculpt a massive panel next to the
faces, in the shape of the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase was a deal between
the United States and France, where France sold much of today's central US to the newly
formed country. The panel would be inscribed with gilded letters of the Declaration of
Independence and other territorial acquisitions. Borglum also wanted to create a hall into
the mountain behind the memorial which would be known as "The Hall of Records" and hold
much of the US history the four presidents represent. He said "you might as well drop
a letter into the world's postal service without an address or signature, as to send that carved
mountain into history without identification." The original plan also included sculptures
of the Presidents head-to-waist, not only their faces.
However, as you can see, neither of the Presidents torsos is sculpted, only the beginning can
be seen on Washington and Lincoln. Borglum's "Hall of Records" was also started but never
completed. The main reason for this is that the architect and the man who drove the project
forward, Gutzon Borglum, suddenly died from an embolism in 1941. His son Lincoln tried
to continue the work, but the father's death and the raging Second World War lead to serious
funding problem which caused a halt in the construction the very same year. With this,
the Mount Rushmore memorial was left as we know it today. The memorial was officially
dedicated in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush.
Today, the historian Doane Robinson's original vision of boosting the South Dakotan tourism
has become reality. The memorial receives million of visitors each year and it has become
a true American icon.
