Why is Theodore Roosevelt on Mt Rushmore?

Answer 1

Thomas Jefferson, one of the most prominent of the founding fathers, is credited as the author of the Declaration of Independence. He became the third President of the United States. His administration bought from France the land on which Mt. Rushmore stands. He sent the Lewis and Clarke expedition to explore that territory when it was still unsettled. He, more than the others, perhaps, belongs on that mountain.

Answer 2

American sculptor Gutzon Borglum selected the four US Presidents, as it was not a US government project.

Roosevelt was the President who led the US into the "Modern Age". He truly exercised the Power of the Presidency, as well as treating the US as a world power. Decisions made by him colored US diplomacy and power for decades after his death.
Mt. Rushmore started as the vision of one man, a man with the desire to create a monument, the determination to move mountains, and the willingness to spend a hell of a lot of time writing letters begging for donations. This man was Doane Robinson, superintendent of South Dakota's State Historical Society. Where others saw mountains--lots and lots of mountains--he saw the chance to carve giant statues to immortalize the heroes who had changed the history of South Dakota. Men like General Custer or Lewis and Clark. More important, a giant memorial would be a way to get some tourists up to South Dakota, because at that point the only people who bothered to go to there for vacation were geographically-befuddled souls who assumed that "South" in the name meant that the climate would be warm. Robinson spent most of 1924 asking people to donate time and money to his cause and seeking a sculptor willing to undertake such a massive project. To that end, Robinson sent a letter to John Gutzon Borglum. Borglum was--in one of my favorite quotes from The Presidents, Tidbits and Trivia by Frank, Melick, and Dobbins--"just the kind of person to drop the John and keep the Gutzon." He was already a famous sculptor and painter when Robinson's letter arrived, and at the time was carving portraits of Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and Jefferson Davis into Stone Mountain in Georgia. As work slowed on the Stone Mountain project--the Stone Mountain Confederate Mounumental Association was constantly suggesting changes, interfering with work, and generally making Borglum's life a hassle--the sculptor became more and more enchanted with the thought of working on an even bigger, more national project. In 1925 Borglum destroyed the models being used for Stone Mountain and fled Georgia for South Dakota. Once there, Borglum quickly explained to Robinson that the idea of Buffalo Bill or Sioux Indians being carved into the mountains was a small thought for a small mind--a better project would be one national in scope and timeless in subject matter. With that in mind, Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt were chosen to represent American dynasty and destiny. Washington had secured America's independence; Jefferson had written the Declaration of Independence and made the Louisiana Purchase; Lincoln had preserved the Union. As for Roosevelt--well, the reasons given are many and varied. At the cynical end of the spectrum, we can point out that President Roosevelt had been a supporter and patron of Borglum, and that Borglum's major work prior to Stone Mountain had been a bust of Lincoln that Roosevelt had exhibited in the White House. Borglum had returned the favor by campaigning for Roosevelt. On the more idealistic side, Teddy Roosevelt is a powerful figure in American myth. Borglum saw the carving in Rushmore as a memorial to the United States' Manifest Destiny, and Theodore Roosevelt--hero of the Spanish-American War, builder of the Panama Canal, explorer, rancher, naturalist, conservator, and athlete--certainly embodied all the good qualities we associate with those who "tamed the West." It is also important to realize that when Borglum was beginning his work, Roosevelt had only been out of office for seventeen years, and had been dead less than ten. Imagine, for comparison, someone in the early '70's writing a list of "Great Presidents" and not including John F. Kennedy--it would seem bizarre. Work on the project lasted from 1927 to 1941, though the actual carving only lasted six and a half years--the rest of the time was spent waiting for funds to be raised. Borglum did none of the actual carving. He created the initial model, then hired teams of drillers and dynamiters to remove the rock according measurements made from his design. All in all, over 450,000 tons of stone were removed from Mt. Rushmore, and not a single worker was killed doing it. Borglum died before work was complete. His son Lincoln took over the project but made only minor "refining" touches out of deference to his father's vision. Thus seven months after Borglum's death he declared the project finished.

Answer 3

George Washington represents the birth of the country, Thomas Jefferson the expansion of the nation, Abe Lincoln the preservation of the Union and Theodore Roosevelt represents the development of the country.

Answer 4

Why is Theodore Roosevelt famous? Let me count the ways: Only age 42 when becoming President, he put in a whole lotta living in the four decades before that. He was a New York State Assemblyman, US Civil Service Commissioner, President of New York Board of Police Commissioners, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Spanish American War Hero, Medal of Honor Recipient, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and US VP, and Governor of New York State.

Answer 5

I believe that the sculptor chose the people he wanted to carve into the mountain. Roosevelt was a strong President who started the building of the Panama Canal, asserted the influence of the US in the Western Hemisphere and encouraged the preservation of America's natural wonders and resources.

Answer 6

He is third on Mt Rushmore because he was the third person to bring the most changes to help the world a better place

P.S- don't put this, but like wat Michael Jackson said make the world a better place dont treat the world badly

Answer 7

He helped in many enviorment problems.And he also made over 300 park or National parks in America and it saved over 500,000 anamals

Answer 8

I would think writing the Declaration of Independence would be enough but buying enough land to double the size of the country via the Louisiana Purchase would have to seal the deal.