The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, picked all four presidents himself. (Can you imagine Congress letting that happen today?) He chose each one to represent a different aspect of America's first 150 years.
George Washington symbolizes the birth of our nation.
As our first president he set the tone for our fledgling democracy. He was elected to three terms, but he decided that two was enough. More than 150 years before our twenty-second amendment would have forced him to step aside after his second term, he voluntarily handed the reins to John Adams. This selfless act distinguished what it meant to be a president instead of a king or an emperor.
Fun fact: George Washington was the first face to be carved on the mountain. It is also the most prominent. His nose is 21 feet long. The other noses are just 20 feet long.
Thomas Jefferson was chosen to represent the expansion of the nation.
He's best known for being the author of the Declaration of Independence. But the folks in South Dakota can thank him for authorizing the Louisiana Purchase. It nearly doubled the size of the United States. In 1803, the land covered by the Mount Rushmore National Memorial cost this country just $38.34. (That's three cents an acre for the park's 1,278 acres.) What a deal!
Fun fact: Thomas Jefferson wasn't always located on Washington's left. In fact, for 18 months his face stared down from Washington's right. Imperfections in the granite forced the sculptors to relocate him. Then another imperfection was detected where his nose would be. So, rather than run the risk of his nose falling off, they tilted his head up slightly.
So what happened to the face that had been on Washington's right? In one spectacular explosion, his face was blasted off the mountain to join the pile of rocks below. Believe it or not, they've got it on video.
So what happened to the face that had been on Washington's right? In one spectacular explosion, his face was blasted off the mountain to join the pile of rocks below. Believe it or not, they've got it on video.
Theodore Roosevelt represents the development of our nation.
Teddy was a controversial choice. Gutzon Borglum was making the selections in 1925, just six years after Roosevelt's death, and just 16 years since he'd left office. The public was unsure whether his contributions would withstand the test of time.
President Roosevelt was known as a "trust-buster". He challenged big business. He passed laws like the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. At Mount Rushmore, he's most famous for building the Panama Canal. This was the main reason Borglum chose him. But I'll always remember him for the Antiquities Act. This law authorized the president to set aside any federal land for conservation. During his presidency, he preserved 230 million acres for future generations.
Abraham Lincoln was chosen to represent the preservation of our nation.
Abraham Lincoln held the country together while the Civil War threatened to tear it apart. He abolished slavery.
Fun fact: Borglum loved Lincoln so much, he even named his son after him. Lincoln Borglum took over the supervision of the project when his father died in 1941, just seven months shy of completion.