One of the most overwhelming public art projects taken on by our country is Mount Rushmore.
This project began during our current decade of study, the 1920s.
For this week's blog, read this article from the Smithsonian Institute about the creation of Mount Rushmore. Be sure to read all six sections (click "next" at the bottom of each page until the article is finished).
Of course, a blog about Mount Rushmore wouldn't be complete without addressing the differing views of this site. Read this article and this article to see a different side of the story.
For the comments, discuss what you learned about this impressive monument. Also consider...as cool as Mount Rushmore is, does it seem necessary to you or a waste of time and resources?
I learned so must about Mount Rushmore after reading all three of these interesting articles. One thing that I learned was that Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota and also that it started to be built in 1927. The second thing that I learned was that Mount Rushmore was named after Charles Rushmore. I learned as well that it was created by a sculptor named Gutzon Borglum. I also learned that the Mount Rushmore bill was passed in 1929. I learned that Mount Rushmore costed almost one million dollars to get it built. I learned that 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved by using dynamite. I also learned that Mount Rushmore was finished on October 31, 1941. I also learned and found it extremely shocking and interesting that Mount Rushmore’s creator Gutzon Borglum was a Ku Klux Klan member. The building of Mount Rushmore seems necessary to me because it is an important monument and also an important part of The United States history. Mount Rushmore seems necessary to me and not just a waste of time and resources because Mount Rushmore has the faces of the four most influential and most important U.S Presidents in the entire history of The United States of America on it. Of all the other people the builders of Mount Rushmore could have put I think that the builders putting the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt was a good choice. ( 248 Words)
ReplyDeleteIn the blog this week I learned a lot about Mount Rushmore. Doane Robinson wanted to lure more people to come to South Dakota. Doane Robinson and Gutzon Borglum was the reason of Mount Rushmore. Robinson wrote to Gutzon Borglum who is a sculptor and a son from Danish immigrants. Robinson and Borglum talked about the perfect place where they could do the carving at because some plays it would be too difficult. Robison has the idea to sculpt western figures on Mount Rushmore but Borglum had the idea to make the monument national in scope. He wanted to inspire people from all over America. There are four presidents on Mount Rushmore, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Gutzon Borglum selected these four presidents because from his perspective, they represented the most important events in the history of the United States. Most of the space where the faces were carved was cut due to dynamite. Lastly Mount Rushmore is very important in the world today because these four presidents are some of the best we've ever had. The resources on Mount RUshmore could be used but we can resources elsewhere. With it being where it is on a hill it is important because if you get close enough you can see it from a distance. (Word Count:218)
ReplyDeleteThis weeks blog was awesome to learn about. I never learned about Mout Rushmore before and it was pretty cool. Doane Robinson wanted to attract tourist to this beautiful pine wooded mountain range. Gutzon Borglum writer to by Robinson to sculpt the project of Mount Rushmore. He was just finishing the sculpture on Stone Mountain in Georgia at the time of receiving the letter. He agree to this and went to the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1925, Borglum went to three different mountains and fell in love with Rushmore at first site. He chose four men throughout the 150 years of America that inspired the American people, and they were George Washington- father of the country, Thomas Jefferson- Louisiana Purchase, Abraham Lincoln- announced equal freedom for all men and women and Theodore Roosevelt- strong bold man. President Coolidge gave Borglum $250,000 to start the project. A several years have pasted and Borglum as died at age 73, on March 6, 1941. No one has died during this project. His son Lincoln took on the project but didn’t get finished because of the soon to be World War 2. The Democrats didn’t like that they started this project because of the place they put it and what the people on the mountain did. This things like the Louisiana Purchase ran Indians out of their homestay, which they didn’t like. So these things where why democrats didn’t like this project. I’m in the middle of it being a necessity and a waste of resources. Because it makes a lot of people happy and patriotic and at the same time the money could have been used for something else at the time. (283)
ReplyDeleteI learned a whole lot about Mount Rushmore after reading these articles. Doane Robinson had a great idea of luring people and tourists to a pine covered mountain range. Robinson wanted to entice tourists to South Dakota. In August of 1924, Robinson wrote to Gutzon Borglum, an ambitious sculptor with great skills and knowledge. I found out that Mount Rushmore was named after Charles Rushmore who was an attorney that assessed mining claims in that particular area. Borglum claimed that he wanted to create a monument so inspiring that people from all over America would be drawn to it and look and go home better citizens. The actual carving of the mountain first began in 1927 and in 1929, the Mount Rushmore bill was passed. The government provided up to $250,000. I also didn’t know that ninety percent of the mountain was carved by using dynamite and around 400 men worked on the monument. I was very surprised when i read that 800 million pounds of rock were removed after the completion of the presidents faces on the mount. I also found surprising that Congress shut down the construction of Mount Rushmore as they were getting prepared for World War 2. Mount Rushmore was completed on October 31, 1941. I believe Mount Rushmore was necessary and not just waste of time because of the 4 presidents chosen that are on it. The 4 presidents on the mount are some of the greatest and most influential men in American history. I don’t think Mount Rushmore would be as popular if it had any other presidents face on it. (268 words)
ReplyDeleteBorglum was such an artist that he wanted to make a sculpture that sunlight would hit perfectly. Each visage is 6 stories tall. When Borglum saw the mountain that he was going to be carving into, he completely re-thought the idea Robinson has and had an idea to make it western figures. I learned that the reason behind each president carved and sculpted was because Borglum wanted Mount Rushmore to represent the first 150 years of the nation’s history. The most interesting thing to me was learning the reasoning behind each president out of the four. “Washington represents the foundation of the country, the creation of the United States. Jefferson reflects the expansion of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the country in size and seeing that vision of what the country could be; Lincoln, the preservation of the country through the Civil War; and Roosevelt, the development of the country as a world power leading up into the 20th century,” says Bracewell.
ReplyDeleteIt took a whole four hundred men to complete this piece. Not to mention the expense of Mount Rushmore was around one million dollars. Reading these articles, I’ve learned that we do not all think the same way. Of course at the end of the day, I am aware that everyone takes in everything differently. However, reading the different views of this landmark, I see how negatively impactful it can be on some people. I do not know if I would consider this project “necessary”. I see how it is an impressive reminder to many people. It is a good way to represent early history in America and definitely took a lot of patience, dedication, and skill. (281)
Side note: I think whom the place, Mount Rushmore, is named after is cool and important but there are things I want to address that stuck out to me.
ReplyDeleteThings that caught my eye:
• the writer of the articles decided to let use see what the Mount Rushmore looks like with a different perspective. The perspective that people tend to overlook except for now. The natives tend to see the Mount a little differently. They don’t see it as a sign or reminder of patriotism or victory. They see it as loss and hypocrisy.
•There are parts about the presidents that people forget. Yes, they did great things for the country, but harmed a few colonies. Several leaders have harmed less or sadly many more, but even though they are human it’s still not good to use that as an excuse. I’m not going to go into detail, but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.
- I think that the monument is really cool and there are parts of the presidents I respect. However, I beg to differ that the sculpting of the Mount was worth it. Many lost their homes, money, and lives. What did it cost?
•Although, I learned all this I would still like to visit it in person.(212)
Mount Rushmore was originally built to attract more people to South Dakota. Tourists were uninterested to come there because there was nothing to do or see. In 1924, Robinson wrote a well known sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. He was already carving on a cliff in Georgia. Robinson knew he could get the job done because of his prior experience. The sculptor would only be able to fit Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and possibly a few other mounted generals. When Robinson took the sculptor to the place he thought would be suitable, the sculptor didn’t approve at first. Then, he began sculpting and claimed the rocks would be fine. He was extremely prestigious with his art work. The job was difficult but it was worth it. It ended up costing about 1 million dollars. Most of the rock was carved using dynamite. The monument was completed in 1941. I think Mount Rushmore is cool how to go see and visit, but I don’t think it was a necessity. All that money could’ve gone towards different things that would’ve been more impactful. I think it’s super cool that people carved into the mountain but I don’t think it was worth $1 million. (200 words)
ReplyDeleteWOW!! I never really knew about Mount Rushmore until now, I had seen it before on Phineas and Ferb but I thought it was just one of there summer inventions. Borglum is a very good artist he was very talented. Borglum wanted Mount Rushmore to represent the first 150 years of the nation’s history, and so decided to carve portraits of four key president's into the granite. “Washington represents the foundation of the country, the creation of the United States. Jefferson reflects the expansion of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the country in size and seeing that vision of what the country could be; Lincoln, the preservation of the country through the Civil War; and Roosevelt, the development of the country as a world power leading up into the 20th century,” says Bracewell. Over 14 years were spent constructing the memorial, funding was always an issue. In the end, the project cost nearly $1 million, about 85 percent of which came, from federal funds. 400 men in total, worked on the monument. Ninety percent of the mountain was carved using dynamite. No one died in the making of the monument. Gutzon Borglum died at age 73, on March 6, 1941, it was the beginning of the end for the making of the monument. His son Lincoln took over in leading the project. The United States prepared for World War II, and federal funds were needed elsewhere, Congress shut down the construction of Mount Rushmore and declared the monument complete, on October 31, 1941. Even though Mount Rushmore is a very cool sculpture it was not a necessity, the money could have been used for something more efficient. I know that it brought in tourist but it is a art piece that is super expensive ($1 million dollars)
ReplyDeleteWord count: 299
Mount Rushmore, one of America's most fascinating attractions, was built in 1927. There are many views set on Mount Rushmore and after reading through these articles, I have formed my own. Constructing the monument in the side of a Georgia mountain took an estimated one million dollars, and about 30 men working at a given time. About 85% of the one million dollars was government funded, and the total amount of men was in the ballpark of 400. One view is that this whole project was a big waste due to the steep cost of both time and money. Although, I completely disagree with this view. Personally I do absolutely think that it was worth the time and money to complete this project. I am aware that it was very costly, but it is a crucial part of our history, and I'm sure that a ton of money has been made through the park admissions to compensate for its cost. I am in strong opposition to those who are against the memorial, as I feel that it gives our country a special kind of significance. Also, two facts that I found quite interesting are that around 90% of the monument was carved with the use of dynamite, and a total of 800 million pounds of rock had been removed from the mountain. (Word Count: 222)
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Mount Rushmore
ReplyDeleteThe funding and approval for the carving started in 1927. Many people were involved in trying to get this piece of art to go through. In 1929 a bill was passed that the United States Government would help fun and give $250,000 for this landmark. Although that was only nearly half of what it would cost. Over the 14 years it took to make Mount Rushmore happen it took around 1 Million dollars to complete the entire landmark. During the process they would have 30 men working at a time and it took a total of 400 men to complete every step. Many people don’t realize that over 90% of the mountain was carved using explosive dynamite. They had skilled men who knew exactly how much dynamite to use and after the explosives there would only be left 3-5 inches of rock left to chisel away. Thankfully no one died in the making. Borglum, the creator of Mount Rushmore used a projector at night to blast onto the mountain the work that he wanted to be done. He would paint with white and red paint to mark all the measurements for the men. This took lots of time, work, effort, and many hours of labor. Although today we see this as a historical land mark and nothing wrong with it,there are many people who think Mount Rushmore shouldn’t have ever gotten approved by the Government. They believe it is destroying land that should have never been touched in the first place. (253)