Mount Rushmore

by Gilbert C. Fite

Gilbert C. Fite tells the fascinating story of the origin and development of Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It was first published in 1952 and is the official historical record of the carving.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction

302 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1952

About the author

The son of educators and farmers, Gilbert Courtland Fite grew up in rural South Dakota. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of South Dakota, and completed his doctorate in history at the University of Missouri in 1945. From 1945 until 1971, Fite taught at the University of Oklahoma, where he established his reputation as an agricultural historian. After serving as president of Eastern Illinois University from 1971 until 1976, Fite went to the University of Georgia, where he became the inaugural first Richard B. Russell Professor of History. Over the course of his career Fite served as president of the Western History Association, the Southern Historical Association, the Agricultural History Society, and Phi Alpha Theta.

Reviews

[Andrew Regiec · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read about Mount Rushmore, it will not be the last. As an introduction to the the history of the memorial this book serves its purpose. The book is dated, though that doesn't affect the history. Most of the story deals with budgets and funding and some with the exceeding difficult task of having to work for/with Gutzon Borglum. Overall a fine read, a bit dry, and somewhat repetitive.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting history of the monument. It's a wonder it was completed as much as it was.

[jj Grilliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information about the history of carving Mt Rushmore. Liked the photos. The copy I have is 2020 edition

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a loooooooooong read. I feel like I've been reading it for weeks. It was the entire telling of Gutzon Borglum's work on Mount Rushmore.

There were a few things I had learned prior to reading the book that I learned were actually wrong. Doane Robinson and Peter Norbeck had dreamed of putting Native Americans on the mountain - but Borglum never planned on that happening. I had read somewhere that Borglum carved Theodore Roosevelt from memory - that wasn't mentioned anywhere in the book. In fact, it wasn't even certain Roosevelt would be on the mountain.

Initially Borglum planned on carving the presidents to their waist. He always knew George Washington would be the prominent figure of the sculpture. He chose Washington because he contributed so much to our independence and the establishment of our government.

He chose Thomas Jefferson because of the importance of the Louisiana purchase. This represented the entire spirit of American continental growth. He was also a great political philosopher.

Abraham Lincoln was chosen for preserving the union.

Theodore Roosevelt was viewed as a preeminently all-American president. Roosevelt was a controversial choice because, according to some, he was not dead enough for his service to the country to really sink in.

Borglum was set on creating an entablature to go along with the monument. He wanted it to the right of Lincoln. It was to have the 9 defining moments of our country's history. He also wanted a Hall of Records- which he began to build in the canyon behind Abraham Lincoln's head. He planned for important people's busts to be placed here - such as Susan B. Anthony, Benjamin Franklin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, etc. Today the Hall of Records contains a small monument. Buried under the monument is a description of each president's reason for being placed on the mountain. There are also copies of the Declaration of Independence as well as other important documents.

Most of the book explained the financial trouble that was had for the mountain since the very beginning. It is interesting to read what was said about the idea of Mount Rushmore while knowing how it all turned out. They definitely thought this was a crazy idea, but to have stood under the mountain several times, it is an amazing place to stand and stare all day.

All in all I really liked this book. My plan is to collect books from each place I visit. I love nonfiction book. It just took a long time to get through.