Mt Rushmore Memorial

The Great Depression was a catastrophic time in history that turned the lives of South Dakota citizens upside down. It wasn’t until locals suggested they build a memorial to recognize four of the past presidents that little cheer was brought among the people. This marvelous memorial was Mount Rushmore. There was success and failure along the way, but that’s only one of the reasons it stands tall and beautiful today. The four presidents the memorial consists of are Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. These four leaders changed history, and because of them our world is a brighter, and better place to live in today. They deserve to be memorialized for several reasons, but their are some things they did

Each day they were required to climb 506 steps just to begin work, although they didn’t sculpt much during the winter. The sculpture was carved into the unnamed mountain, and 450,000 tons of rock had to be removed to begin. Borglum originally planned for the presidents to be sculpted from the waist up, but after a huge sculpting disaster he was left with no other choice but to sculpt only their heads. After that his goal was to make their eyes pop out so that when the sun hit the pupil it would look like a twinkle of light. Robinson worked hard to get people to donate to the organization, but not everyone liked the idea of Mount Rushmore. Native Americans were the main ones who opposed to it being built, due to the fact that it was being put on a natural landscape, in a sacred land. Mount Rushmore was going to cost the United States $989,992 and money was a hard thing to get a hold of during that time .It wasn’t until 1929 that the organization got a huge donation, and the sculpting process really began. At the time President Calvin Coolidge signed a form stating that Mount Rushmore was allowed to be built, and he would oversee completion. Along with that he gave a $250,000 dollar donation in order for the memorial to be built. At that Borglum became the President of the project and the loyal Doane Robinson was

In the end Mount Rushmore was completed on October 31, 1941. Lincoln finished the job for his deceased father and many were satisfied with the results. Within the next year Mount Rushmore was attracting more tourists than South Dakota got in a total of four years! To this very day the stunning memorial attracts more than two million tourist every year, and it’s one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions.The four Presidents the memorial is for are deeply admired, and they did a lot of good for our world. George Washington served as the commander of chief in the Continental Army, Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery, Thomas Jefferson fought for the right to be free and human rights, and Theodore Roosevelt was all about preserving the environment. These Presidents contributed something to the world that we will never be able to pay them back for. Mount Rushmore is just the simplest way to say thank you and honor these outstanding Presidents