The Shady History of Mt. Rushmore

Photo: Ken Lund

The L.A. Times’ online travel section recently published a list of trivia on Mt. Rushmore, the U.S. national memorial featuring the faces of four American presidents carved into a granite cliff in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

Intended to share various fun facts on a national icon, the list includes entries such as:

Photo: StuSeeger

* George Washington has the longest nose of the four.
* Ninety percent of the carving work was carried out with dynamite.
* Thomas Jefferson was originally positioned on Washington’s right, but this face was blown up and a new one carved between Washington and Roosevelt.

Yet, the article also relates a few obscure historical points about the monument that raise eyebrows in a different way:

1. The lead sculptor may have been a member of the KKK.

Gutzon Borglum was the man charged with creating the monument in 1927.

Photo: Peter Kaminski

However, immediately prior to this, he had been laboring on a different project: the Confederate Memorial Carving on Stone Mountain, Georgia.

This is the largest bas-relief in the world and depicts Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and “Stonewall” Jackson.

Its construction was funded in large part by Georgia’s Ku Klux Klan.

Though Borglum didn’t finish the job, he became pretty chummy with KKK leaders during his time at Stone Mountain, and his experiences there directly influenced his work on Mt. Rushmore.

2. The Black Hills are stolen land.

In 1868, the U.S. government signed a treaty with various American Indian peoples guaranteeing Indian ownership of the Black Hills forever. Just nine years later the government took back the land (there’s a term for that, isn’t there?) following the discovery of gold in the Black Hills.

In other words, a proud monument commemorating heroes of American democracy sits on land acquired through lies.

Photo: KimonBerlin

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that the Black Hills had been illegally seized and ordered the federal government to pay $105 million to the American Indians still residing in the region.

The money was refused.

What’s more, on another cliff just 17 miles from Rushmore, a new monument is slowly taking shape. Its subject is Crazy Horse, the famous Oglala Lakota leader.

Progress is slow, due to the desire of those involved to avoid using government funds. But when completed, it will be nearly 10 times as tall as Mt. Rushmore — the largest statue in the world.

More than a monument

If you’re one of the 3 million visitors to Mt. Rushmore this year, make sure to keep the above “trivia” in mind.

Like any travel destination, there’s more here than meets the eye.

Community Connection

Rapid City, South Dakota, isn’t just the gateway to Mt. Rushmore, but also to Pristine America.

If you get fired up on history, you’ll enjoy these other Matador titles:
10 Key Destinations For The Historical Time Traveler
How to Take a Foreign History Crash Course in 5 Steps