Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a United States national memorial centred on a monumental sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore, known to the Lakota people as Six Grandfathers, in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. The memorial features the colossal heads of four presidents of the United States—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—selected to symbolise the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation. The site attracts more than two million visitors annually and stands as one of the most recognisable monuments in the United States.
The mountain rises to an elevation of approximately 1,745 metres above sea level and was chosen partly because its southeastern exposure provides optimal sunlight throughout the day.

Origins and Indigenous Significance

Long before the creation of the memorial, Mount Rushmore and the surrounding Black Hills were regarded as sacred lands by Plains Indigenous peoples, including the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The Lakota name Six Grandfathers refers to ancestral spiritual forces representing the six directions: north, south, east, west, above (the sky), and below (the earth). The area served for centuries as a place of prayer, vision quests, and the gathering of food, medicine, and materials.
In the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), the United States government recognised the Black Hills as Sioux territory “in perpetuity”. However, following the discovery of gold during the Black Hills Expedition of 1874, led by General George Armstrong Custer, the treaty was violated. In 1877, the US government seized control of the Black Hills, opening the region to settlers and prospectors.
The legality of this seizure was challenged more than a century later. In United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians (1980), the US Supreme Court ruled that the land had been taken illegally and awarded financial compensation. The Sioux Nation refused the monetary settlement, continuing to demand the return of the land. This unresolved dispute has led some critics to characterise Mount Rushmore as a “Shrine of Hypocrisy” rather than the “Shrine of Democracy” envisioned by its creator.

Naming of Mount Rushmore

The mountain’s current name originates from the visit of Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer and mining promoter, who travelled to the Black Hills in the mid-1880s to investigate land claims. When Rushmore asked his guide, Bill Challis, the name of the mountain, Challis reportedly replied that it had no name and jokingly suggested it be named after Rushmore. The name gained local usage and was officially recognised by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1930.

Concept and Planning

The idea for a large-scale monument in the Black Hills was conceived by Doane Robinson, a South Dakota historian who sought to promote tourism in the state during the early twentieth century. Initially, Robinson proposed carving figures associated with the American West, such as Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, Red Cloud, and Crazy Horse.
Robinson eventually enlisted sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who rejected the western-themed concept and instead proposed depicting four US presidents to give the monument broader national significance. Borglum selected Mount Rushmore after determining that other locations, such as the granite spires known as the Needles, were geologically unsuitable for large-scale carving.
Political support was secured by Senator Peter Norbeck of South Dakota, who helped obtain state and federal backing. In 1925, legislation was passed allowing the use of federal land, and in 1927, Congress authorised matching federal funds for the project.

Construction and Artistic Execution

Construction of the memorial began in 1927 and continued until 1941. Borglum oversaw the project until his death in March 1941, after which his son Lincoln Borglum assumed leadership. The work involved hundreds of labourers and relied heavily on dynamite, followed by detailed carving using pneumatic drills.
The presidents’ faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Borglum originally planned to carve each figure from head to waist, including inscriptions and additional sculptural elements. However, financial constraints and the onset of the Second World War led to the project’s termination on 31 October 1941, leaving the sculptures unfinished. Only George Washington’s figure includes limited detail below the chin.
Despite the hazardous nature of the work, no fatalities were recorded during construction.

Symbolism of the Presidents

Each president represented at Mount Rushmore was chosen for a specific symbolic reason:

• George Washington represents the founding of the United States.
• Thomas Jefferson symbolises expansion and the ideals of democracy, notably through the Louisiana Purchase.
• Theodore Roosevelt reflects industrial growth, conservation, and the emergence of the United States as a global power.
• Abraham Lincoln embodies national unity and the preservation of the Union during the Civil War.

Controversy and Criticism

From its inception, the memorial faced opposition. Indigenous communities objected to the carving as a desecration of sacred land and criticised the choice of presidents, noting their roles in policies that dispossessed Native peoples. Additionally, Borglum’s past associations, including his involvement with the Ku Klux Klan during the Stone Mountain project in Georgia, have drawn further scrutiny.
These controversies continue to shape contemporary debates about the memorial’s meaning, interpretation, and place within American historical memory.