I was contacted by a newspaper editor in California recently. He asked whether the National Park Service has any serious plans for adding President Ronald Reagan to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
For years, the idea has been kicked around that another president should join George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln on the granite face of Mount Rushmore.
In fact, there’s been a running joke since the Carter administration: “Why won’t they put (insert unpopular president here) on Mount Rushmore? Because there’s not enough rock for two more faces.”
But the real reason is art, not rock.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose the four presidents to represent the birth, growth, preservation and expansion of the United States. That was his intent when he created Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Mount Rushmore is a completed piece of art, as far as the National Park Service is concerned. It was created by Gutzon Borglum, not Gutzon Borglum, et. al. Bringing in another sculptor to change the original artwork would be akin to painting the face of Mother Teresa onto Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.”
Besides, I think there’s growing public sentiment that the granite spires of the Black Hills, shaped by millions of years of wind and water, are beautiful just as they are. I don’t see any more major carving going on anytime soon.
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Bravo! Here here! Excellent blog post!
But, of course, that’s because you stole my idea.
The only thing I’d add is about why those presidents were chosen to represent the ideals of birth, growth, preservation and expansion.
George Washington - Birth. Duh. This one’s a bit of a no-brainer. Leader of the Continental Army and the country’s first president in 1789. Because no one had ever been president before, he was responsible for shaping a lot of the mechanisms of the federal government we now take for granted.
Thomas Jefferson - Growth. Everyone knows T.J. for the Declaration of Independence. People seem to forget he was actually president, though. After all, does anyone ever think of the Barbary Wars? Noooo… But at least the Louisiana Purchase was a little more famous. That little transaction with Napoleon more than doubled the size of the country, and Borglum thought that was pretty significant.
Abraham Lincoln - Preservation. This is an easy one. To this day, most historians recognize the Civil War as the single greatest threat this nation has ever experienced - greater even than the World Wars. Lincoln managed to keep the country together, and Borglum figured that was worth a little recognition - like, say, a six-story-high sculpture of Lincoln’s head on a mountain.
Teddy Roosevelt - Expansion. Most people think about Rough Riders and “Bully!” when they see T.R.’s name. But when Borglum looked at Roosevelt, he saw the president that brought the U.S. into the 20th century. He saw a man that broke up the monopolies of the 1800s and brought them into a new, modern age. And, perhaps most significantly, he saw the president who built the Panama Canal, which helped to extend the commercial and political influence of the United States to new parts of the globe. This was Borglum’s most controversial pick. A lot of folks didn’t think Roosevelt had been dead long enough to go up on the mountain.
Thanks for the additional info. (And thanks for letting me steal your idea.) I didn’t realize Jefferson was included because of the Louisiana Purchase.
And our timing for today’s thread is good. Today is the 219th anniversary of Washington’s first inauguration, on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York.
Wow.. What a history lesson.
Now see, your argument about “art” doesn’t help me, Dan - I think “The Last Supper” would be greatly improved by the addition of Mother Teresa, or maybe Gandhi. And don’t you think there are plenty of other American ideals that merit addition to the collection which Borglum *started*? “Detonation,” for example. Oh but wait, we’re not supposed to commemorate living presidents, are we?