Temanson 1 Colton Temanson Amber Lemiere English 101 11/19/2013 Mount Rushmore With all the monuments around the world there are many that some people might not be familiar with, but without a doubt most have heard of Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is located in Keystone, South Dakota. Doane Robinson created the idea of the monument while, Gutzon Borglum and Lincoln Borglum sculpted it. It features the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It received the name “Mount Rushmore” being named after Charles E. Rushmore a big time New York lawyer. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln were chose for Mount Rushmore to represent the first 130 years of American history and theirs roles in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. In all it took the workers 14 years total years starting in 1927 to complete the monument and the total cost was $989,992.32. Mount Rushmore was sculpted because it symbolizes America and represents America’s cultural beginnings. When looking at Mount Rushmore most people probably just see a big mountain with four faces of previous presidents carved into the side. The faces on Mount Rushmore should be easy to recognize for most people, but some may wonder why these faces were chose to be carved into Mount Rushmore. According to www.mtrushmore.net, “the presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized. George Washington represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson the idea of government by the people. Abraham Lincoln for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states, and Theodore Roosevelt for the 20th Temanson 2 century role of the United States in world affairs.” Originally Lewis and Clark, Buffalo Bill, and Chief Red Cloud were chosen for Mount Rushmore but Borglum decided the presidents would be more significant. The significance and purpose of a monument plays a huge roll in how people might see or perceive a certain monument. According to www.nps.gov, “The purpose of Mount Rushmore National Memorial is to commemorate our national history and progress through the visages of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.” It feels as if the message that was being portrayed by Mount Rushmore is that these four presidents progressed the United States greatly and became what it was and is now because of them. .