Madacyn

Mount Rushmore In 1927 the carving of Mount Rushmore began. The plan was to attract more people to the Black Hills of South Dakota by carving heads of former presidents on the side of a mountain, which were presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It is one of the most important monuments because it represents the first 150 years of the history of the U.S.A. It was named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer. They say that it was named after him because he made friends with all the miners and prospectors. There were 400 workers, and there were injuries but no deaths. The entire project cost $989,992.32. Each head is 60-feet tall.

The tools that were used to carve Mount Rushmore were jackhammers and carving tools. The person who thought of building Mt. Rushmore was Gutzon Borglum. He was a carver. He started by making a small replica of what he wanted to do. He was out looking for a good place for carving. He said that the side of Mount Rushmore would be good because it faced southeast, which meant it would receive light for most of the day. It was the highest peak, and the granite was very resistent. President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the memorial in 1927. This memorial attracts 2,000,000 people annually.

George Washington represents the struggle for independence, Thomas Jefferson represents the idea of government by the people. Abraham Lincoln represents his ideas of permanent union of the states, and Theodore Roosevelt represents the20th century role of the United States in world affairs. A $56 million redevelopment was completed in 1998 with the addition of a new parking structure, amphitheater,museum/theater complex, visitor orientation center, Presidential trail, gift shop,bookstore, and dining facilities.

In 1933 the National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under jurisdiction. Enjineer Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving it infrastruture. They upgraded the tram so that it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore so work would be easyer for the workers. Then by July 4, 1934, Washingtons face was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, the face of Abraham Lincoln was dedicated in 1937, and the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated in 1939. Then on October 15,1966 Mount Rushmore was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1991 President George H. W. Bush officialy dedicated Mount Rushmore.

In a canyon behind the carved spaces there is a chamber wich holds a vault with sixteen porcelain enamel panels. The panels contain the text of the Declaration of Independents and the Constitution, biographies of the four Presidents and Borglum, and the history of the U.S. The chamber was created as a entranceway to a planned  Hall of Records the vault was instaled in 1998.

Maintenance requires mountain climbers to monitor and seal cracks, it has only been cleaned once. On July 8, 2005 ,Karcher a German manufacturer of cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation, the washing used pressurized water at over 200 F.

When Charles E. Rushmore and his wife died they both were buried at the foot of Mount Rushmore.

This is a great American landmark because it will always remined us of what those four Presidents did for us and we will never forget them. .