Mt. Rushmore

11/2/05

We finally reached Mt. Rushmore around 2:45pm. It was very impressive! The details of the Presidents' faces were amazing. Borglum, the sculptor, chose to carve George Washington because he was the commander of the Revolutionary army and first U.S. President. Thomas Jefferson was the third President, author of the Declaration of Independence, and mastermind of the Louisiana Purchase. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President whose leadership restored the Union and ended slavery on U.S. soil. Borglum chose Theodore Roosevelt because he was the artists' hero. Roosevelt promoted construction of the Panama Canal and ignited progressive causes such as conservation and economic reform.

The faces actually look different in varying light. They appear to be smiling in the morning light. Whereas, later in the day, they look more pensive and solemn. It trully is a work of art.

I found out that they received alot of opposition when starting the project in 1921. It took the artist eight years before he finally received the funding and the okay to do it. Conservatists claimed that man makes statues, but God made the needles in the mountain. I saw many more needles in the area, but none as impressive as Mt. Rushmore. God made the artist as well as the mountain. Together, they made a wonderful masterpiece.