Campaign ManagerIf you have not heard of this monument, then you are probably living under a rock. Mount Rushmore is one of the most famous historical monuments not just in the United States but in the whole world. It is a United States National Monument located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The construction work of this historical landmark took place in 1927 and went on till October 1941. It consists of the facial sculpting of the four prominent United States Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Initial Plans
The main sculptor of the monument was Gutzon Borglum. He was responsible for designing and overseeing the whole project. While Mount Rushmore to some, may just look like a bunch of facial carvings on the surface of a mountain, but there is so much more to it. Borglum initially wanted this to be a secret project and wanted to keep it from the public’s knowledge. There have been a lot of speculations as to what these fours faces hold behind closed doors.
The Father of Mount Rushmore
Back in the year 1923, historian Doane Robinson, aka “The Father of Mount Rushmore,” was struck with a brilliant idea to get tourists to visit South Dakota. So in the year 1924, he met up with sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Borglum had helped in creating The Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain in Georgia.
Robinson told him about his idea of doing a similar project Black Hills of South Dakota, and Borlgum was in. Originally, the monument’s location was set to be in the Needles near Custer, South Dakota. The granite pillars turned out to be too thin so it was a no-go. They were searching for a good place to finish their project in. After an intensive location scouting was done, they made a decision to set Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. As he looked at Mount Rushmore, Borglum even claimed that “America will march along that skyline.” Congress authorized the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission on March 3, 1925. It went on to be a celebrated monument that holds a sentimental value to many people.
The Original Intention
But you would be surprised to know that the carvings of these four famous presidents was not the original plan at all. In the beginning, the idea was to actually carve world famous people to attract visitors from all over the world. There were also talks of carving eventful incidents that took place in the history of American. Then, in the end, they made a choice to carve the faces of these iconic presidents which was ultimately very well received by the people. So even before the time came when Doane Robinson thought of the idea behind Mount Rushmore, the country had already had 29 presidents in its times as a country. So then a question pops up. Why did Gutzon Borglum decide to put just these four presidents and not the rest? The National Parks Service made a claim about this decision saying that all four were chosen because they each represent something about the United States.
The Reason
George Washington would be a representation of the birth of the nation, Jefferson would be a sign of the country’s growth, Roosevelt serves as a representation of the development, and Abraham Lincoln would be a sign of the preservation of the union. Even though there were other presidents, Borglum felt as though these four held the essence of the United States. This was the main reason why these four iconic presidents made their way on the monument. As you may have read somewhere in the history books, the construction of this monument was not free of controversy. Even before they could start building it, the project faced a roadblock with regard to where it was located. The design was going to change the whole landscape of the location around it and it would result in a permanent change in the geology of the entire place. Some people had a problem with this.
The Native Americans
The Black Hills of South Dakota are considered to be sacred lands by several Native American tribes including the Lakotas, Cheyennes, Arapahos, and some more. The project still went through because the U.S. government had already claimed the area as a National Park. Till today the hills are still used for ritualistic purposes by the Native Americans. Proper compensation for the government using this site is in discussion till date. As of the month of October in 1927, the construction of this site began. Gutzon Borglum employed about 400 workers to assist him in making his idea come to life. For Borglum, the monument would not be just another sculpture of his or like any of his other previous works. This monument was going to be his masterpiece and his permanent gift to the American people. It would be there for even the generations in the future to witness.