by Maeve
Mount Rushmore is a national monument, and consists of
cliffs in the Black Hills of South Dakota which have the huge faces of four presidents carved
into it. The amazing idea to carve them was from a historian, who enlisted the
help of a sculptor named Borglum, who is now all over billboards as you
approach the site. Work was started in
1927, and took 15 years. 400 men worked
on the project, but apparently no women.
So we thought of some women whose faces could have been carved into
stone: Jane Goodall (suggested by Maeve), Hayley Wickenheiser (suggested by
Sam), Wangari Maathai (suggested by Mama), and the growly-voiced lead singer of
the heavy metal band Arch Enemy (Maeve again).
Dad mentioned that it’s not so bad to be admiring these guys though,
since in their time the president was probably focused more on building a
better country.
Here’s what I remember about the four presidents:
George Washington – He was the first president and he has
the biggest face that is carved. You can see his profile on a lookout before
you get there.
Thomas Jefferson – He wrote the Declaration of Independence.
He helped expand the country.
Abraham Lincoln – He was president during the Civil War. He
has a long beard.
Theodore Roosevelt – He established five national parks, and
the US national forest system and cared a lot about protecting nature. He was responsible for the Panama Canal.
Hi, Maeve!
ReplyDeleteI remember how amazed I was at Mt. Rushmore, too! I also think Roosevelt is an interesting person because He had a disability. He was mostly in a wheelchair because he had had polio. I think (maybe you could check this out to see if it's true?) that he is also why teddy bears are called teddy? Teddy was his nickname.
Did you also see the Crazy Horse monument? I think it is near there somewhere, but when I was there it wasn't finished. How on earth do people get the idea to carve people into mountains??? That is a crazy monumental idea!
Patti
We did see the Crazy Horse monument and it's very cool but still not finished!! It's been 60 years but they don't have any government funding so it's hard to get enough money to finish it. I liked the museum though. It was colourful and interesting. M.
DeleteGlad you're enjoying yourself and learning some history Maeve, can't wait to talk to you about it!
ReplyDelete