Mount Rushmore; an important memorial in American history, an artistic project that generated hundreds of jobs during a dark period, and a symbol of the growth of the country through 250 years. Today, I visited this breathtaking monument in South Dakota, and here is my personal experience
Significance
When we entered the memorial area, visitors and I admired the walkway filled with flags of all US states and territories, and when they were added to the Union, or claimed as territory. Ahead of us was a breathtaking view of four presidents who symbolize an important period in American history. George Washington, who was the first President and lead the Continental Army to victory during the Revolutionary War, which was a struggle for independence from the British; Thomas Jefferson, a founding father who played a significant role in authoring the Constitution and acquired a significant amount of land from the Luisiana Purchase; Abraham Lincoln, the president who abolished slavery and led the Union to triumph during the Civil War; and Theodore Roosevelt, who expanded America’s National Park systems, initiated construction of the Panama Canal, rose the US to its current military power, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for meditating the Russo-Japanese war.
Mount Rushmore’s History
“Shrine of Democracy” or “Shrine of Hypocrisy”?
The construction of Mount Rushmore wasn’t a straightforward job; it symbolized hard work from both men and women too. Before any plans on creating the memorial, local tribes in South Dakota knew the mountain as “Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe”, meaning Six Grandfathers in the Lakota language. There is some dispute on who should own that land, because it was illegally taken from a tribal group Sioux in 1870, and they continue to demand the land back. In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled in United States vs. Sioux Nation of Indians, and the outcome was $102 million compensation for the Sioux, but they have refused the money and demand the land back.
Consulting Borglum
Around the 1920s, tourism wasn’t high in barren South Dakota. In 1923, Doane Robinson learned about the “Shrine to the Confederacy”, an undergoing project in Georgia to carve Confederate generals into the side of Stone Mountain. He decided to begin a project like this in South Dakota to boost tourism. He sent a letter to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who also sculpted the Shrine to the Confederacy, to examine the mountain and check if the idea was accomplishable. Borglum was formally given the job to lead this operation, and would start it later.
Beginning the Project
The original plan was to make the carvings on “The Needles”, which were high pillar-like structures, but that was declined due to the carvings not being stable enough. Robinson’s original idea was also rejected, which were to carve Old West figures in American history, such as Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and John C. Freemont, but those were declined too.
Construction
Between 1927 and 1941, over 400 workers carved the massive mountain to show the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. While money was tight as it was the Great Depression, they received federal funding and donations from schools. They successfully blew up parts of the mountain with dynamite, and no lives were lost! In 1941, Borglum died from embolism, and his son, Lincoln Borglum decided to continue the project. In total, the project costed $989,992.32, which is about $21.2 million in 2024.
The Visitor Center
A few steps farther was the visitor center, where you can watch an informational film of the deep and captivating history of how, during a time of poverty and struggle, an artist found a way to bring tourism in a barren land, create jobs, and used his creative skills and connections to carve four presidents in the middle of a mountain. You can examine documents and artifacts from the time in a museum, such as donations made by schools to fund the memorial and dynamite boxes. You can shop for merchandise and items to make your visit more memorable at the gift store. There are also some small dining options and an ice-cream shop to make your experience even sweeter. With all the hype about this site, I was truly mesmerized by the beauty and significance of this magnificent wonder. I definitely recommend visiting this memorial!