Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, USA - History carved in Stone

We are visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA. The gigantic heads of the four US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are history carved in granite and make the monument a popular tourist attraction. Mount Rushmore is a 1,745-meter-high (5,725 ft) mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In the language of the Lakota Sioux, the indigenous people of this region, the mountain is called "The Six Grandfathers" and is considered sacred. In 1868, the US government granted the Black Hills to the Sioux Nation for unrestricted and unmolested use and settlement in the Treaty of Fort Laramie. However, after gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1877, the US simply removed the area from the Sioux Nation's land. And in 1930, the mountain was officially named after Charles Rushmore, a lawyer who had become wealthy through gold mining rights. From the Lakota Sioux perspective, the monument desecrated a spiritual site, and the legal dispute between the Sioux Nation and the state over the expropriation remains unresolved. The idea for the enormous monument originally came from historian Doane Robinson, who wanted to attract tourists to the Black Hills. He initially envisioned Western heroes, but sculptor Gutzon Borglum opted for a more nationalistic message. He selected four presidents who represented the first 150 years of U.S. history: George Washington, the first president after the country's independence; Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence; Theodore Roosevelt, a symbol of economic growth; and Abraham Lincoln, for abolishing slavery and preserving the nation. From 1927 to 1941, work was carried out on the mountain under Borglum's direction. Approximately 90% of the rock was removed using precise dynamite blasting. The finishing touches were done with jackhammers and chisels. Remarkably, despite the dangerous conditions at dizzying heights, there wasn't a single fatality during the entire 14 years of construction. The project ended prematurely in 1941 after Borglum's death and due to a lack of funds. By that time, the approximately 18-meter-high (60 ft) heads were complete, but the originally planned sculpting of the figures down to the waist was never realized. Only George Washington's head was given a collar. We are pleased that admission to Mount Rushmore National Memorial is free! However, there is a charge for parking. There is an information center at the entrance, a café, and, of course, a gift shop. We walk along the Avenue of Flags to the Grand View Terrace and the Visitor Center, which offers a wealth of information about the monument's history. The short Presidential Trail leads us across the grounds and even closer to the presidents. It sometimes feels a bit surreal when these gentlemen emerge from the trees high above us and gaze down solemnly! And it's interesting to eavesdrop on the conversations of the other visitors, who are wondering if the monument might soon be expanded to include a fifth president! John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were also once considered for an expansion. So far, such plans have always come to nothing, and it will probably remain at four presidents for geological reasons. Even the fact that Theodore Roosevelt is offset by 90 degrees wasn't planned, but rather a result of instability in the rock. For more information, please turn on the video subtitles! If you enjoyed it, please like and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss anything. You can find the complete channel playlist about our trip to the USA here:    • USA Roadtrip   Visit in May 2024 Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Drive to Mount Rushmore 00:49 Visitor Center and Avenue of Flags 02:56 Presidential Trail 04:11 Outro