Ep 6. Mount Rushmore

With its towering faces of the founding fathers of America, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a site of iconic American imagery. American Experience presents season 14, episode 6, which explores the history of Mount Rushmore and its significance to American culture, identity, and history.

The episode delves into the monumental feat of sculpting the heads of four of America's most respected presidents onto the faces of a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota. With their faces looming over 60 ft high, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt have become the embodiment of America's ideals, principles and history.

Through interviews with historians, workers, and descendants of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, viewers are given a detailed and fascinating look at the origins and development of this extraordinary national monument. Borglum shared the belief of many Americans that greatness could only be achieved through individual heroism, hard work, and dedication to the ideals of democracy, which drove his vision for the memorial.

The show also explores the controversy surrounding the location of the memorial. The mountain chosen was sacred land to the Lakota Native American tribe, and they protested the intrusion of the U.S. government onto their land. Despite this opposition, the government went ahead with the project, and it has since become an irreplaceable national icon.

As American Experience reveals, the construction of Mount Rushmore was no easy task. Workers were forced to work at dizzying heights and in sometimes hazardous conditions. Nonetheless, the monument was completed within the four years between 1927 and 1941, with each president-facing taking around six and a half years to carve.

With the monument now visited by over two million people every year, the episode explores the many meanings and messages associated with Mount Rushmore. It reflects on how it has become a symbol of democracy and patriotism, and how it has come to represent the American ideas of greatness and progress. The program also explores the shifting attitudes towards the monument in recent times, as debates have emerged about its representation of American history.

Ultimately, the American Experience episode on Mount Rushmore speaks to America's enduring fascination with identity and history, and the role that public monuments play in shaping and reflecting these national obsessions. What was once a remarkable vision of both art and patriotism has become an integral part of the American landscape, and a symbol of the nation's story, legacy, and values.