fbpx

KidsKonnect

Mount Rushmore Facts & Worksheets

Mount Rushmore, also known as the President’s Mountain, is a national memorial located in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Social Studies /Geography /Landmarks & Sights /Mount Rushmore Facts & Worksheets
Premium
Mount Rushmore Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Mount Rushmore is a national memorial that includes a colossal sculpture of the 60-foot-tall heads of four United States presidents designed by Gutzon Borglum and constructed in 14 years. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were chosen to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively. Senator Peter Norbeck from South Dakota sponsored and secured funding for the project. However, the funds needed to be increased, and the construction was halted with only the head completed, as opposed to the original plan, which required the figures to be from head to waist.

See the fact file below for more information about Mount Rushmore, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

Historical Background

  • It was designed to create the goal of creating a tourist attraction that represented the triumph of Western civilization.
  • Lakota Sioux and the other nations occupying the land saw the upcoming project as a reason to lose their sacred lands and forget their negative experiences under the national government.
    • A treaty with the US government in 1868 guaranteed the Sioux ownership of the territory, including the entire Black Hills.
    • After gold was discovered on the land in the 1870s, Americans began settling in the area. The federal government forced the Sioux to give up a portion of the Black Hills.

Name

  • Cougar Mountain was the common name for it. Mount Rushmore is known as “The Six Grandfathers” by the Lakota Sioux because it is on the route of a spiritual journey taken by Lakota leader Black Elk. On the other hand, American settlers called it Sugarloaf Mountain, Slaughterhouse Mountain, and Keystone Cliffs.
  • From 1876 to 1878, the US military conducted campaigns to reclaim control of the area.
  • In 1885, wealthy investor Charles E. Rushmore visited the area frequently on hunting trips and joked with his colleagues David Swanzey and Bill Challis about naming the mountain after himself.
  • In June 1930, the United States Board of Geographic Names acknowledged it as Mount Rushmore.

Planning

  • Doane Robinson, a historian, had the idea of promoting tourism in South Dakota through an attraction in 1923.
  • In 1924, he went to Gutzon Borglum and convinced him to visit the Black Hills area to assess the possibility of carving.
  • The carvings were supposed to be done in granite pillars known as Needles, but Borglum suggested doing them in Mount Rushmore because the eroded Needles were too thin to be sculpted. Furthermore, Mount Rushmore was considered grander because it faced southeast, with maximum sun exposure.
  • A congressional delegation and President Calvin Coolidge approved the project on March 3, 1925.

The Sculptor

  • He rose to prominence by creating sculptures commemorating the history of the United States.
  • He was involved with the Ku Klux Klan, which helped in funding the Stone Mountain project in Georgia. However, he soon began to have disagreements with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association.
  • He was fired from the association in February 1925 for alleged financial mismanagement. He made national headlines after destroying the Stone Mountain models and fleeing the state.
  • By August 1925, he had a contract to work on Mount Rushmore.
  • He disagreed with Robinson’s initial plan and advocated for the carving to portray integral presidents in the country’s territorial expansion.

Construction

  • Because of their significant contributions to preserving the Republic and expanding its territory, Borglum chose to include US Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln in the sculpture as a representation of the first 150 years of American history.
  • The carving of Mount Rushmore involved blasting off approximately 450,000 tons of rock on the mountainside with dynamite and drilling holes to remove small pieces by hand.
  • The project’s chief carver was Luigi Del Bianco, a Port Chester artisan and stonemason. He emigrated to the United States from Italy as part of a project in which he was chosen for his knowledge of the sculptural language and ability to impart emotion in the carved portraits.
  • Mount Rushmore was turned over to the National Park Service in 1933. Since then, engineer Julian Spotts had overseen the project’s construction and made improvements to the infrastructure, such as when he upgraded the tram to help workers reach the top of Mount Rushmore.
  • Washington‘s face was the first to be completed and dedicated (July 4, 1934), followed by Jefferson‘s (1936), Lincoln‘s (September 17, 1937), and Roosevelt‘s (July 4, 1934). (1939).
  • In 1937, a bill aimed at adding the head of a civil-rights leader Susan B. Anthony was disrupted by a bill requiring funds to be allotted only to finish those heads that had already been started.

Redevelopment and Proposals

  • Harold Spitznagel and Cecil Doty constructed the original visitor center as part of the Mission 66 effort to enhance services at national parks and monuments throughout the country to accommodate tourists better. It was completed in 1957.
  • Other extensive visitor facilities and sidewalks, such as the Lincoln Borglum Museum and the Presidential Trail, were also completed in 1998.
  • On July 8, 2005, Alfred Karcher, a German manufacturer, conducted a free cleanup operation using pressurized hot water to alleviate the budget constraints resulting in the memorial not being cleaned regularly.
  • RESPEC, an engineering firm, was tasked with monitoring the rock’s stability in 1989.
  • Proposals for additional sculptures, including one of John F. Kennedy following his assassination in 1963, were ignored.
  • Ronald Reagan also proposed inclusion, which was debated in Congress.
  • The New York Times conducted a poll of political scientists in 2018, and Franklin Roosevelt was found to be the most popular candidate for inclusion on Mount Rushmore.

Tourism

  • Tourism is South Dakota’s second-largest industry, with Mount Rushmore serving as the state’s top tourist attraction.
  • It received 2,185,447 tourist visits in 2012.
  • The location gained popularity but also provided access to an abandoned area’s surrounding environment.
  • In the 1950s and 1960s, Benjamin Black Elk, a local Lakota Sioux elder, became known as the “Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore.” He was posing for photographs with thousands of tourists, making him the most photographed person in the world during that time.

Conservation

  • National Park Service is supervising the conservation of the site with physical efforts, including the replacement of the sealant applied to cracks by Borglum after being proved ineffective at providing water resistance.
  • Borglum’s sealant contained linseed oil, granite dust, and white lead, but granite dust has been substituted.
  • Using electronic monitoring devices, the topology of the sculpture was recorded to move by three millimeters in 1998.
  • In 2009, a terrestrial laser scanner was used to record it as part of the Scottish Ten, a five-year project that used technology to create accurate digital models of the World Heritage Sites. It provided a digital record that helped in conserving the site.

Mount Rushmore Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Mount Rushmore across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Mount Rushmore worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Mount Rushmore, also known as the President’s Mountain, which is a national memorial located in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota. It features a carved granite rock sculpture of four U.S. presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

  • Mount Rushmore Facts
  • Father of Mount Rushmore
  • American Presidents
  • In Numbers
  • American Landmarks
  • Avenue of Flags
  • Hall of Records
  • Building Vocabulary
  • Mount Rushmore Webbing
  • I Nominate
  • Time to Travel!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were the four presidents on Mount Rushmore?

Gutzon Borglum disagreed with Robinson’s initial plan and advocated for the carving to portray presidents who were integral in the country’s territorial expansion.

Who is the 5th face on Mount Rushmore?

In the 1950s and 1960s, Benjamin Black Elk, a local Lakota Sioux elder, became known as the “Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore.” He was posing for photographs with thousands of tourists, making him the most photographed person in the world during that time.

Why is Mount Rushmore so famous?

Mount Rushmore is a national memorial that includes a colossal sculpture of the 60-foot-tall heads of four United States presidents designed by Gutzon Borglum.

Furthermore, Mount Rushmore was considered grander because it faced southeast, with maximum sun exposure.

Why did they stop making Mt Rushmore?

The funds needed to be increased, and the construction was halted with only the head completed, as opposed to the original plan, which required the figures to be from head to waist.

How long did it take to carve out Mount Rushmore?

Mount Rushmore is a national memorial that includes a colossal sculpture of the 60-foot-tall heads of four United States presidents designed by Gutzon Borglum and constructed in 14 years.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Mount Rushmore Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 11, 2018

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources