Mount Rushmore is a monument to the ideals of the United States. The faces of fourpresidents who contributed to the formation of the nation are carved on Mount Rushmore inSouth Dakota. These four presidents are George Washington， Thomas Jefferson， AbrahamLincoln， and Theodore Roosevelt. Each had a vision of what the United States of Americashould be and shaped the development of the country.
Doane Robinson， the superintendent of the South Dakota State Historical Society， firsten~i~Dakota in 1923. He proposed the carving of giant statues of historical figures of the OldWest， such as General George Custer and Kit Carson into a mountainside. Robinson lobbiedfor support of the idea， as he believed it would promote tourism in the area. Although manythought the idea was ludicrous， Robinson managed to enlist the support of U.S. SenatorPeter Norbeck. Norbeck suggested that Robinson find a sculpt
r skilled enough toundertake the project， so Robinson contacted Gutzon Borglum， an American artist， whoaccepted the commission.
Borglum was not interested in creating a sculpture using regional historical figures assubjects because he thought that such a sculpture would not be of great interest or historicalimportance. So Borglum， together with Norbeck and Robinson， decided upon a sculpture ofgreat presidents who had contributed to the birth and development of the United States andto the achievement of its aspirations. Borglum selected Mount Rushmore in the HarneyNational Forest for his carving because it faced southeast and would be in direct sunlight forthe better part of the day. The site was also ideal because the granite that made up themountain was suitable for the work.
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