State Historian Ben Jones and his able Assistant Braeden Kluver shake up the show's format. Season 5 will include episodes that share a South Dakota story told by Ben and Braeden. This episode tells the story of the creation, carving, funding, and politics of Mount Rushmore. We go into who had the idea, how Gutzom Borglum got involved and what his artistic and political philosophies were. Along with Doane Robinson and Peter Norbeck who enlisted the help of Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt, the story of Mount Rushmore's creation is emblematic of its time. Sources for the discussion were: The Carving of Mount Rushmore by Rex Allen Smith, The Great White Fathers by John Taliaferro, Peter Norbeck: Prairie Statesman by Gilbert Fite & Alton Lee, and the Doane Robinson Papers at the SD State Archives. Also, mentioned in the episode was the 1939 video linked here: Black Hills Vacation, August 1939 – Fretheim/Vollum Family Film
History 605 S5 Ep 1: How Mount Rushmore Came to Be
