Mount Rushmore

I have always wanted to visit Mount Rushmore.  Seeing the faces of the four presidents carved into the granite face of the mountain is quite an impressive sight.  How did such a monumental event even come to be?

Mount Rushmore got its name quite innocently.  A lawyer from New York, Charles E. Rushmore, was visiting a local tin mine in the Black Hills when he asked a friend what the name of the mountain was.  His friend laughed and said it had no name – and then gave it Rushmore’s name.  Ever since, it has been called Mount Rushmore.  Amazingly, the mountain was officially given the name in 1930, some 45 years after Charles E. Rushmore made his visit to South Dakota in 1885.  Perhaps out of a sense of responsibility, Rushmore actually gave the largest donation to the project of sculpting the mountain.  He gave $5000.  It may not seem like much, but back in the 1920s and 30s, this was a small fortune. (Remember the Stock Market Crash of 1929? Most people had lost all their money then).

Doane Robinson was the main person responsible for this monument called the Shrine of Democracy.  He wanted to create a reason for tourists to come visit South Dakota and the Black Hills.  He learned about the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who was working on a similar project in Georgia.  When that project fell through, he convinced Borglum to come to South Dakota to come see the area.  Robinson was the main person responsible for collecting funds to complete the project.

Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor.  He was nearly 60 years old when he began working on the Shrine of Democracy.  Born in March of 1867, Borglum started his own studio in California.  His first memorable sculpture was of General John C. Fremont.  He then traveled to Europe for many years.  In 1901, he returned to the United States.  Other works of his include the bronze equestrian sculpture of General Phil Sheridan in Washington, DC, and the Bust of Lincoln in the Rotunda of the Capitol.  He was asked to sculpt a statue of Lee, Jackson, and Davis on the Stone Mountain in Georgia.  Far too many problems arose and the project was scrapped after he finished Lee’s face.  The project was never finished and Lee’s face was destroyed.  It was Doane Robinson who brought Borglum to South Dakota.


Many people do not read about the chief stone carver under Borglum.  His name was Luigi Del Bianco.  He met Borglum early on in the design process of Mount Rushmore.  He assisted Borglum with the Governor Hancock Memorial in South Carolina, the Stone Mountain in Georgia (before Borglum stopped working on it), and the Wars of America Memorial in Newark, New Jersey.   His job was to carve the main features of the presidents.  He did Lincoln's eyes and Jefferson's face.  He worked on the monument until the funds ran out. 

The project was agreed upon in 1924 and received the backing of Congress with the help of Congressman William Williamson and Senator Peter Norbeck.  Finally, after getting Congress to agree to allocate funds, the sculpture was started in 1927.  Mount Rushmore took 14 years to complete, and even then it was not finished the way Borglum wanted.  He wanted the figures to be from the waist to the head, but after his death in 1941, funding was not forthcoming.  His son put on the finishing touches, but the rest of the bodies were never completed.

Calvin Coolidge was president at the time and insisted on having two Democrats and one more Republican in addition to George Washington.  So, why the other three?  Of course we all understand why George Washington – he was the father of our country; our first president; and he was the commander-in-chief of the American forces during the Revolutionary War.  Thomas Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence – the document which guides countries to this day in setting up their own democracy.  He was also instrumental in the Louisiana Purchase, the parcel of land that doubled the size of our country.  Abraham Lincoln was chosen because he helped mend a broken country and keep it from self-destructing.  He abolished slavery so all men were free.  Finally, Theodore Roosevelt was chosen because his influence helped our country move into the 20^th century.  He helped construct the Panama Canal which linked the east coast of our country to west coast.  Finally, he was known as a trust buster – keeping companies from gaining too much power.

Some final quick facts:

Mount Rushmore cost $989 million to construct.

The granite was chosen because it only erodes one inch every 10,000 years.

George Washington’s head was completed and dedicated on July 4, 1934.

Thomas Jefferson was supposed to be on the other side but the granite was not good enough.  His head was completed in 1936.

Abraham Lincoln’s head was completed on September 17, 1937.

Theodore Roosevelt’s head was finished in 1939.

Did you know there was a campaign to add Susan B. Anthony’s head to the group?  They could never raise the funds to do so.

The sculpture took 14 years to complete.

The statues are 60 feet high.  Each nose is 20 feet long.  The mouths are 18 feet wide, and the eyes are 11 feet across.
Once World War II broke out in 1942, funds were scarce and the memorial could not be finished.

A great link for Mount Rushmore is run by the National Park Services. 

Abraham Lincoln - Part 3

Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed on April 14, 1865 while attending “My American Cousin” at the Ford Theater.  John George Nicolay and John Hay, who were Lincoln’s personal secretary and assistants were present at Lincoln’s deathbed and wrote about that fateful night.  These excerpts are their words written down after the assassination.

wax figures from Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL

“From the beginning of his Presidency, Mr. Lincoln had been constantly subject to the threats of his enemies and the warnings of his friends.  The threats came in every form; his mail was infested with brutal and vulgar menace, mostly anonymous, the proper expression of vile and cowardly minds.”

“A little band of malignant secessionists, consisting of John Wilkes Booth, an actor, of a famous family of players; Lewis Powel, alias Payne, a disbanded rebel soldier from Florida; George Atzerodt, formerly a coachmaker, but more recently a spy and blockade runner of the Potomac; David E. Herold, a young druggist’s clerk; Samuel Arnold and Michael O’Laughlin, Maryland secessionists and Confederate soldiers, and John H. Surratt, had their ordinary rendezvous at the house of Mrs. Mary E. Surratt, the widowed mother of the last named, formerly a woman of some property in Maryland, but reduced to reverses to keeping a small boarding-house in Washington.”

The Peterson House, where Lincoln died

President Lincoln had a recurring dream.  Three times this dream visited him. The last time was three days before he was assassinated.  He dreamed he heard sobbing all around him.  As he wandered, he saw people gathered around a corpse – soldiers and mourners. When he asked one of the soldiers who had died, they told him, “The President, killed by an assassin”. He tells some friends who were there that he then awoke and has been troubled by the dream ever since.

Ford's Theater as it looked in 1865

These men and woman conspired together to kill the president.  Once Booth learned Lincoln and Grant were to be at the theater, he sent word through Mary Surratt for everyone to meet later that night.  He met with his co-conspirators and assigned them their jobs – Payne would kill Seward, and Atzerodt would kill Johnson. Herold would wait for Payne and then meet them in Maryland. Unfortunately, Herold heard the screams and ran away, leaving Payne alone.  O’Laughlin followed the Grants and did attempt to kill them on the train, but could not get inside their private train car.  Atzerodt did not want to kill anyone, but Booth told him he was in too far to chicken out now.

The Presidential Box overlooking the stage

When he arrived at the theater, he used all his charms to find his way inside and then lock the door to Lincoln’s booth before shooting him in the back of the head.  Lincoln was not the only one on the list of assassinations that evening.  His entire cabinet was to be murdered.  Secretary William Seward and his son were stabbed several times by an unnamed man who pretended to be delivering a prescription.  Secretary Seward recovered from his wounds.  General Grant and his wife had left earlier, but were supposed to be at the theater that same evening. Vice President Johnson was placed under guard as soon as the attacks occurred, the government worried the assassins would be coming for him as well.

Herold and Booth went to Dr. Mudd’s office where the doctor made crutches for the Booth’s broken leg. Mudd took them to another home where they spent the night. They hid at the Garrett farm, claiming to be a wounded Confederate soldier.  On April 26, the farm was surrounded and Booth was captured. A soldier named Boston Corbett snuck up behind Booth and shot him in the neck.

The rest were rounded up, except for John Surratt, who escaped to Quebec then Liverpool, England.  He was finally captured in Egypt in 1866. He was put on trial, but the jury could not come to a conclusion to his guilt, so he went free and died in 1916.

Out of the many rounded up, eight were put on trial – Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Samuel Mudd, Michael O’Laughlin, Lewis Powell (Payne), Edmund Spangler (who held Booth’s horse for him), and Mary Surratt. A military tribunal was ordered by President Johnson. The trial lasted six weeks with 366 witnesses testifying. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O’Laughlin were given life sentences.  Edmund Spangler was given six years in prison. Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt were sentenced to hang. Many asked for clemency for Mary Surratt, but Johnson said he never received the request. They were hanged on July 7, 1865.

John Surratt - escaped to Europe, never convicted

Michael O'Laughlin - life in prison

Dr. Samuel Mudd - life imprisonment

Samuel Arnold - life imprisonment

Edmund Spangler - given 6 years in prison

George Atzerodt - hanged

John Wilkes Booth - killed by Boston Corbett

Mary Surratt - hanged

Lewis Powell, aka Payne - hanged

David Herold - hanged

Ford’s Theater was closed not long after the assassination.  People were outraged by what happened there.  The government purchased the theater, tore out the insides, and used it as an office building.  It was later used as a warehouse. In 1968, the theater was reopened as a museum and working playhouse.  The Presidential box is never occupied during theater showings.  The house across the street where Lincoln died – the Peterson House – was purchased in 1898 and held as a memorial for the slain president. 

John Ford 

Abraham Lincoln - Part 2

Bust of Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater

The Civil War was not the first type of war like this in the history of the world.  On the contrary, it was but one in a long history of civil wars fought. Look up any country, and you will find a civil war.  BUT, this was the first one for the United States of America. In many other countries, the war changed those countries, bringing in new leaders. In our history, one leader stood tall - Abraham Lincoln.  With the help of his generals, he brought a severed country back together again.

So, who were these generals who helped win this war?

Most of us remember the last one - Ulysses S. Grant, who would go on to become president. Here are some of the other generals who helped win countless battles or advised Lincoln on strategies that helped win battles and eventually win the war.

Winfield Scott

Winfield Scott and his "Anaconda Plan" - also served the US during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Black Hawk War, and the Seminole War. He was given a brevet promotion in 1856, the 1st American since George Washington to ever get the award. His "Anaconda Plan" helped defeat the Confederacy by blockading major ports throughout the South during the war. He was 74 years old when the Civil War broke out.

Irwin McDowell

Irwin McDowell - was the commander during the defeat of Bull Run. He became brigadier general and was given command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. His army was forced to remain in Washington, DC, to defend the city, even though at times, he was going to be called away to assist other battles. The fear of DC being attacked, kept him stationed there.

George McClellan

George McClellan - was briefly the general-in-chief of the Union Army.  He helped raise a well organized and trained army. His failure was mainly in overestimating the strength of the Confederate troops. He failed to seize Richmond when he could. But, by the same token, he performed well at Antietam and kept Lee from invading Maryland.

John Pope

John Pope - served in the Mexican-American War, but also helped survey land for the Transcontinental Railroad. He had some success on the Western front so Lincoln brought him East to lead the Army of Virginia. At the Second Bull Run, he was routed but the defeat was blamed on Brig. General Porter. After that, he was sent to Minnesota for the Dakota War of 1862.

Ambrose Burnside

Ambrose Burnside - is the owner of the "sideburns" which is a play on his name. He served in the Mexican-American War before fighting Native Americans on the western front. The inventor of the Burnside carbine, a rifle, his company was enlisted to help equip the army. While fighting in North Carolina, he succeeded in launching an amphibious campaign that closed over 80% of the sea coast to shipping. He did not perform well at Antietam or Fredericksburg. Both assaults were losses, and he resigned, being replaced by Hooker. Lincoln kept him on but put him on several western campaigns, where he performed with mixed results.

Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker - served in the Mexican-American War and the Seminole War. He proved aggressive during the Battle of Williamsburg and was made Major General. He was wounded at the Battle of Antietam. He was defeated at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Later he was given command of the Army of the Potomac. He had an important win at the Battle of Lookout Mountain. His nickname was "Fighting Joe".

George Meade

George Meade - served during the Mexican-American War and the Seminole War. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. Many felt he should have pursued Lee after the battle, thinking the war would have ended much sooner if he had. he was injured in the arm, back, and side. He replaced Hooker at the Battle of Antietam, but was also wounded in the thigh.

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant - served in the Mexican-American War, then resigned to try to make a living in Galena, Illinois. When the Civil War broke out, he trained soldiers in Cairo, Illinois before fighting in the western campaign. He was aggressive and seized Kentucky and Tennessee. He fought and defeated the Confederates in Vicksburg gaining control of the Mississippi River. Lincoln gave him command of the Union Army and he confronted Lee several times.  After winning Petersburg, his army captured Richmond.  Lee surrendered to him in April of 1865. He would become the 18th president of the US.


The generals mentioned are just some of the men who were instrumental in helping the Union defeat the Confederacy during the Civil War. Some were more effective than others. Some helped move the campaigns along and others caused delays that lengthened the war unnecessarily.  Through it all, Lincoln had to rely on his own advisors.  Just like in our own lives, we receive both good and bad advice. Lincoln was heavily criticized for giving Grant the job because of his aggressive nature, and yet if he had not, the war could have gone on for many more years, or worse - the war could have severed the country permanently.

Abraham Lincoln - part 1

Lincoln's Inauguration in 1861

Abraham Lincoln, one of our most revered presidents, worked hard to keep our nation together.  Even before he became president, emotions were running high in Congress and across the nation.  The issue of slavery had not only split the country in half, but it was pitting family members against each other.  A state could not enter the union without first declaring itself as Free or Slave.  This caused many problems for new states.  Kansas was one state where blood was shed in the name of freedom.  It was not that people did not know slavery was wrong and should be abolished, it was Southern's fear of letting go of the economy that had made them wealthy. They had convinced themselves they were right - that slaves were necessary. One man saw there was no getting around it any more - slavery had to be abolished or the country was going to destroy itself over slavery.  Abraham Lincoln's bravery in standing up against adversity kept our nation together. Even when states began to secede, he refused to let them go without a fight.

At the start of his term as president he surrounded himself with men of varying viewpoints. Although he was a Republican, he put Democrats and Whigs in his cabinet.

Hannibal Hamlin - his Vice President.  Our 15th Vice President, he was the first Republican Vice President.  He was the Governor of Maine before he became the vice president.  He was opposed to slavery and provided a balance to the ticket for election in the 1860 election.  He supported Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

William Seward - the Secretary of State. He was strongly opposed to slavery. He opened his home to runaway slaves during the 1850s. He even ran for president during the 1860 election. Although he did not win, he was selected to be part of Lincoln's cabinet.  He helped keep foreign powers from becoming involved in the war. He survived an assassination attack during the same time the conspirators killed President Lincoln.

Montgomery Blair - the Postmaster General - he was a lawyer from Maryland and his family owned slaves.  He was against slavery and very vocal about his feelings. Even though he was a Democrat, Lincoln asked him to be part of his cabinet. He instituted free city delivery, a money order system, and the use of railway cars to deliver mail.

Caleb Smith - the Secretary of the Interior - hailed from Indiana and became the first person to hold a cabinet position from that state.  Lincoln rewarded his work on his campaign by giving him this position. His health was failing and he really did not want the job, instead wanting to be assigned to the Supreme Court.  He resigns in 1862 and his assistant - John P. Usher takes over.

Salmon P. Chase - the Secretary of the Treasury -started the Free Soil Movement and Party - where Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men became his slogan.  He ran for president in 1860 but only received 49 votes. He supported Abraham Lincoln.  In hopes of stopping the war, he was part of the Peace Convention in 1860.  He helped establish a national banking system and a national paper money system. He started the "greenback" currency we are all so familiar with today. He actually appeared on the $10,000 bill from 1928-1946.

Simon Cameron - the Secretary of War - was also a candidate for the presidency in 1860 from Pennsylvania.  He supported Lincoln when he did not get the nomination. Unfortunately, he only served for one year before having to resign. During the Civil War he spent time as the ambassador to Russia. He was succeeded by Edwin Stanton.

Edward Bates - the Attorney General - became a Republican when the Whig party broke apart. He was the first cabinet member to come from a state west of the Mississippi.  He helped Lincoln with his war policies such as arresting southern sympathizers and seditious northerners. He disagreed with Lincoln's emancipation and recruiting African Americans into the armed forces. He was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1864 and took the job.

Gideon Welles - the Secretary of the Navy - was born in Connecticut. He helped build up the Navy to blockade the South. He also started the Medal of Honor award.  He also helped to implement the "Anaconda Plan" which put a stranglehold on the South by blockading all ports.

At the outset of the Civil War, these men advised President Lincoln.  Fort Sumter began a war that would rock our nation.  In Charleston Harbor, South Carolina,a ship bringing supplies to soldiers holed up at the fort was fired up.

The Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is probably one of the United States most recognized memorials.  Seen in movies and television shows, it looms in the distance and gives an awe-inspiring sense of patriotism. Everyone knows the famous speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – “I have a dream” took place on the steps before this memorial.  Located on the National Mall, this memorial was designed to honor our 16^th president – Abraham Lincoln. It, of course only seems right the speech would take place before the very man who fought to keep our country together over the issue of slavery.  Oh, many will argue the real reason was state rights, but at the heart of this issue of state rights was the right to decide if the stated wanted to be slave or free. The country was being torn apart as each territory became a state and had to declare itself one or the other.  Each side was afraid of losing the balance of power.  There seemed to be this overwhelming need to keep the number the same.  As in Bloody Kansas, people died for it. When you walk into the Lincoln Memorial and look up into the eyes of Abraham Lincoln, you see the anguish and fatigue in his eyes.  The weight of the country is on his shoulders, but sitting in that chair, you sense his willingness to take on this enormous issue and correct what men tried to fix during the writing of the Declaration of Independence.  Back then, learned men such as Thomas Jefferson fought to have slavery included in the declaration – the make all men free, but was asked to remove it from the document – the men afraid the document would not pass if such a point was included.  Abraham Lincoln had no such qualms – for over 80 years our young country battled with the idea of slavery and abolishing it.  Once he was elected, states seceded from the Union – sensing what was on the horizon and determined to fight President Lincoln every step of the way.

Lincoln’s assassination shocked the badly battered nation.  In 1867, the Lincoln Monument Association was started by Congress to build a memorial to our slain president. Unfortunately it wasn’t until 1902 that a location was chosen on a piece of swampland.  Architect Henry Bacon was chosen to design the building and Daniel Chester French was chosen to make the main statue of Lincoln.  The first stone was set on February 12, 1914.  Eight years later, the monument was dedicated with Lincoln’s only surviving child – Robert Todd Lincoln present for the ceremony.  The monument has every appearance of a Greek Doric temple.  The 36 columns were said to be representative of the 25 states in the Union and the 11 southern states that seceded.  Each of the 36 states’ names are inscribed above each column in the order they joined the union.  The remaining 22 states were carved on the attic walls in the same way – in order of when they joined the union.  Finally, a plaque in front of the monument commemorates when Hawaii and Alaska joined the union in 1959. 

At the moment, the reflecting pool before the memorial is gone.  Dredged up because of filtration problems, a new one is being designed and will replace it soon.  Inside the monument the famous words of the Gettysburg Address are inscribed on the south wall.  Those words – spoke on November 19, 1863 send shivers down the spine.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all  men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.  We are met on a great battlefield of that war.  We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live.  It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.  But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we can not consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground.  The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.  The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.  It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

On the opposite wall is Lincoln’s second inaugural address.  Above both are murals by Jules Guerin that show an angel freeing a slave and the unity of the North and South.  Behind Lincoln’s head are the following words:  In this temple as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.