Mount Rushmore is a fascinating monument that looks like it naturally emerged from the mountain itself. However, it is actually a remarkable combination of art and engineering. This massive sculpture of four U.S. presidents was created by a team of miners who used jackhammers, dynamite, and clever engineering techniques, even though they had no prior artistic experience.
To understand why Mount Rushmore was built, we need to go back to the early 1920s. South Dakota was a young state trying to attract more visitors. Doane Robinson, a state historian, noticed that tourists were flocking to a new sculpture in Georgia. Inspired by this, he contacted sculptor Gutzon Borglum with the idea of creating a massive sculpture of America’s Wild West heroes. Borglum, however, suggested that featuring national figures like presidents would draw more attention. In 1925, he visited South Dakota and found Mount Rushmore, a 500-foot-tall cliff made of fine-grain granite, which he saw as the perfect canvas for his project.
Once the location was chosen, Borglum faced the challenge of preparing the site. There were no roads, electricity, or easy ways for workers to access the mountain. By the summer of 1927, a road was built to transport people and materials to the site. A small village with tool shops, blacksmiths, and housing for workers sprang up at the base. An enormous staircase was constructed to reach the top of the mountain, and a cable car was installed to move tools and materials. A winch house at the summit allowed workers to be raised and lowered to different parts of the mountain.
The team began carving the first head, George Washington, using dynamite to remove large chunks of rock. They then used jackhammers to shape the face. Operating these heavy jackhammers on the side of a cliff was challenging, and they needed a reliable power source. The jackhammers ran on compressed air, so a building with three massive air compressors was set up at the base, powered by electricity from a local gold mine. These compressors sent air through a 2,000-foot pipe up the mountain, allowing up to 16 jackhammers to work simultaneously.
Since the workers were not artists, Borglum needed a way to transfer his design from a model to the mountain. He used a technique inspired by ancient Greek methods, involving a pointing machine. This device helped measure specific points on a sculpture relative to a reference point, which could then be scaled up. Borglum built a larger pointing machine on Mount Rushmore, allowing thousands of points to be marked directly onto the mountain. This guided the workers on where and how deep to drill.
After years of hard work, George Washington’s head was completed. Borglum then focused on the finer details, like the eyes. To make the eyes appear shiny, he cut a hole deep enough to remain in shadow, leaving a square section uncut at the center of the pupil. This risky technique gave the eyes a realistic shine when viewed from a distance. To finish the heads, workers used a technique called bumping, which smoothed the surface and made it whiter.
The carving of Mount Rushmore took 14 years, but it was never fully completed. The original plan included carving each president down to their waist and creating a secret tomb with lavish decorations. However, the onset of World War II shifted focus and funding away from the project, and Gutzon Borglum passed away shortly after. Despite this, Borglum and Robinson succeeded in putting South Dakota on the map with their incredible monument.
Imagine you are an engineer and artist like Gutzon Borglum. Create a design for a new monument that represents important figures or events in your community or country. Use paper and pencils to sketch your ideas, and think about the materials and engineering techniques you would need to bring your monument to life.
Using materials like string, paper cups, and cardboard, construct a simple model of a cable car system similar to the one used at Mount Rushmore. Test your model by transporting small objects from one point to another, and discuss the engineering principles that make it work.
Learn about the pointing machine technique used by Borglum. Create a small clay sculpture and use a grid system to transfer your design onto a larger piece of paper. This will help you understand how precise measurements and scaling are crucial in large-scale projects.
Research the four presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Prepare a short presentation about why each was chosen and their significance in American history. Share your findings with the class.
Discuss the original plans for Mount Rushmore and why they were never completed. Write a short essay or create a comic strip imagining what the completed monument might have looked like and how it could have impacted tourism and history.
Here’s a sanitized version of the provided YouTube transcript:
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There is something unusual about Mount Rushmore. Unlike most sculptures that appear meticulously crafted, Mount Rushmore almost seems to have formed naturally from the mountain, rather than being the work of a great sculptor. In reality, Mount Rushmore is not only a work of art but also an engineering masterpiece. Despite having no artistic experience, a large team of miners managed to bring these giant heads into existence using jackhammers, dynamite, and innovative engineering techniques.
To understand why Mount Rushmore exists, we need to go back in time. In the early 1920s, the state of South Dakota was still relatively young and was struggling to establish itself. State historian Doane Robinson noticed that tourists were flocking to a new sculpture in Georgia, which inspired him to reach out to sculptor Gutzon Borglum. He proposed creating a massive sculpture of America’s Wild West heroes. Borglum, however, believed that featuring national figures like presidents would attract more attention. In the summer of 1925, he traveled to South Dakota and discovered Mount Rushmore, a 500-foot-tall cliff made of fine-grain granite, which he recognized as the perfect canvas for his project.
With the mountain secured, Borglum began studying photographs of the presidents and created a 1:12 scale model. However, Mount Rushmore lacked infrastructure—there were no roads, electricity, or means for workers to climb the mountain. In the summer of 1927, a road was constructed to transport goods and people to the site. Soon after, a village emerged around the base, complete with tool shops, blacksmiths, and housing for workers. An enormous staircase was built to the top of the mountain, and a cable car was installed to transport tools and materials. A winch house was also constructed at the summit, allowing operators to raise and lower workers on small seats to various points on the mountain.
With everything in place, the team began carving the first head of George Washington. Using carefully placed dynamite, they removed large chunks of surface rock until they had a rough egg-shaped head. From there, the workers used jackhammers to carve out the face. Handling these heavy jackhammers on the side of a cliff was a significant challenge, and powering them required more innovative engineering. The jackhammers operated on compressed air, so a building at the base of the mountain was established to power them, containing three massive air compressors that ran on electricity from the local gold mine. These compressors operated continuously, compressing air into a pipe that extended 2,000 feet up the mountain, allowing up to 16 jackhammers to be connected at once.
To prevent the jackhammers from bouncing around, the workers developed their own techniques, sometimes installing chains to hold onto and using their feet to guide the jackhammers into the rock. Although the workers became skilled at operating the jackhammers, they lacked artistic or sculpting experience. To address this, Borglum needed a method to transfer the design from his model to the mountain. On the Stone Mountain Memorial, he had used a large projector to map out his design, but the larger scale and three-dimensional nature of Mount Rushmore made this method impractical.
Borglum took inspiration from ancient Greek techniques, using a pointing machine to measure specific points on a sculpture relative to a reference point, which could then be transferred to a different sculpture. To scale up his design, he created his own pointing machine—a metal arm with a weighted point that could swing around a fixed axis. By placing the weighted point on his model, he could obtain three measurements: the angle, horizontal distance, and vertical distance. By multiplying these measurements by 12, he could transfer the exact points onto the mountain.
To facilitate this, Borglum constructed a larger pointing machine on top of Mount Rushmore, allowing thousands of points to be marked directly onto the mountain, guiding the workers on where and how deep to drill. Instead of carving out entire sections, the workers drilled a series of closely spaced holes in a honeycomb pattern, then hammered out the rock between the holes. After several hours of drilling, a steel worker would descend on a harness with replacement bits to keep the drilling process going. The work was demanding, and the men spent eight hours a day working over a 500-foot cliff edge for just 50 cents an hour.
Over the following years, progress continued, and eventually, George Washington’s head was completed. Borglum had assembled an efficient team and shifted his focus to finer details. One of the most challenging aspects of the sculpture was the eyes. Traditional Greek sculptures often had smooth, flat eyes, but to give the eyes a realistic shine, Borglum cut out a hole deep enough to remain in shadow, leaving a square section uncut at the center of the pupil to create the impression of a reflection. This process was risky, as the rock could collapse at any moment, but the effect was remarkable, giving the eyes a shiny texture when viewed from a distance.
To finish the heads, workers employed a technique called bumping, which smoothed the surface and turned it a whiter color. The carving of Mount Rushmore continued for 14 years, but it was never fully completed. The original plan included carving each president down to their waist, and a secret tomb with lavish decorations was only just beginning when the project was halted. The onset of World War II diverted attention and funding away from Mount Rushmore, and shortly thereafter, Gutzon Borglum passed away. Ultimately, Borglum and Robinson achieved their goal of putting South Dakota on the map.
Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video.
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This version removes any promotional content and maintains a focus on the historical and engineering aspects of Mount Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore – A famous monument in the United States featuring the carved faces of four presidents, created as a work of art and engineering. – The creation of Mount Rushmore required careful planning and skilled engineering to carve the presidents’ faces into the granite mountain.
Art – The expression or application of human creativity and imagination, often in a visual form such as painting or sculpture. – The art class visited a museum to study different styles of painting and sculpture.
Engineering – The application of scientific and mathematical principles to design and build structures, machines, and systems. – Engineering played a crucial role in designing the support structures for the large sculpture.
Sculpture – A three-dimensional work of art created by shaping or combining materials such as stone, metal, or wood. – The artist spent months creating a sculpture of a lion from a single block of marble.
Granite – A very hard, granular, crystalline, igneous rock used for building and sculpting. – The monument was carved from granite, ensuring it would withstand the test of time.
Design – The process of planning and creating something with a specific function or appearance in mind. – The architect’s design for the new art gallery included large windows to let in natural light.
Carving – The act of shaping or cutting a material to create a design or figure, often used in sculpture. – The intricate carving on the wooden door was a beautiful example of skilled craftsmanship.
Technique – A specific method or way of doing something, especially one that requires skill. – The artist used a special technique to give the painting a textured appearance.
Workers – People who are employed to perform tasks, especially those involving physical labor or skill. – The workers carefully followed the engineer’s plans to construct the new bridge.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs, or the past itself. – The museum exhibit explored the history of art from ancient times to the modern era.
