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NARRATOR:
Deep in the Black Hills
of South Dakota
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stands one of the biggest
and unlikeliest monuments
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on the face of the earth--
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a feat of modern engineering
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that relied on the ingenuity
of the ancient Greeks--
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00:02:03,098 --> 00:02:05,834
a carving of
surprising delicacy,
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fashioned with jackhammers
and dynamite,
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a work of public art
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that began without a whisper
of public support.
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Its size, its remote location,
its compelling oddness
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begs the question,
how'd it get there?
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The answer begins with one man:
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an excitable, erratic
and gifted sculptor
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named Gutzon Borglum.
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MAN:
When he was angry,
he was furious.
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When he was generous,
he was overwhelming.
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When he was being petty,
he was penurious.
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He was a hyperactive man
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who traveled in the middle
of a self-generated whirlwind.
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WOMAN:
But he was so full of energy.
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I mean, it was a vital force
within him, burning within him.
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He could charm anybody
to do anything
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if he really put his mind to it.
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And he could also raise
a terrible fuss if you didn't.
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The dimensions of
Washington's head
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would permit the
Sphinx of Egypt
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to lie between
the end of the nose
and the eyebrows.
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NARRATOR:
Gutzon Borglum was
an egomaniacal genius
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and a fetching blowhard,
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a bullish patriot
and a wifty dreamer.
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When he began Mount Rushmore,
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he still believed that one man
could change the world.
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(explosion)
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A 16-year struggle
with the mountain--
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through withering criticism,
lack of trained workers,
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constant delay
and crushing debt--
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would test that plain,
rock-hard,
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American-made conviction.
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NARRATOR:
On October 1, 1925,
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a few hundred souls made their
way up a rough mountain pass
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toward a seldom seen peak in
the Black Hills of South Dakota.
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That day, at the base
of Mount Rushmore,
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Gutzon Borglum announced
his intent
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to create
the great American memorial.
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In the mountain granite,
he would carve a monument
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befitting the world's
newest power:
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statues of four
American presidents,
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more than 30 stories tall.
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Gutzon Borglum's monument would
dwarf the Statue of Liberty,
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the Sphinx of Egypt,
the Colossus of Rhodes.
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WOMAN:
If you start way back
when we first came here,
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my father was looked upon
as a weirdo and a crank.
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They thought he was really
just very peculiar
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and he had big ideas
that would go nowhere.
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MAN:
This is a crazy idea
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in a society that is so recently
removed from the frontier
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that everything
had to be utilitarian.
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It had to have a purpose.
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And of what good were faces
carved on a mountain
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even if you could do it, and
who knew if you could do it?
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MAN:
First he told the Rapid City
businessmen supposedly
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that he didn't need
financial support from them.
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Then after that very first
dedication ceremony
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in, uh, I believe
in October of 1925,
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when he had dinner
with them afterward,
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he said he really needed
that $50,000 now.
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This is the sort of thing
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that angered the people
of South Dakota,
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who began to become
very skeptical about him.
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NARRATOR:
In 1925, Gutzon Borglum
wasn't much concerned
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with what the locals
thought of him.
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His critics, he said,
were mere horseflies.
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If South Dakotans were too thick
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to seize the opportunity
in this magnificent work of art,
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then they didn't deserve
Gutzon Borglum.
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That's the way Borglum saw it,
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and that's all
that mattered to him.
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All his life,
John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum
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was hard-headed
and self-absorbed.
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As a child, he decided
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he would make himself
someone extraordinary
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and he spent his life
in that effort,
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fueled by anger, energy and ego.
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The son of Danish immigrants,
Gutzon was born in Idaho in 1867
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and raised in the West.
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His father had been part
of the Mormon migration west;
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his mother he barely knew.
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MAN:
Borglum was a child of polygamy.
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His father had two wives
when he lived in Idaho--
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Borglum's birth mother
and his mother's sister.
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His father decided he didn't
want to be a Mormon anymore
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and decided to go back to Omaha,
where polygamy was taboo.
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It was decided
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that Gutzon's mother would
be discarded from the family
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and never spoken of again.
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There were eight children
in the family
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and there had been two wives
at one time,
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and one, Gutzon's mother,
actually left the family
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and they were raised
by the stepmother.
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He ran away from home because
he was unhappy and at that...
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he started, I think,
when he was only five years old,
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00:08:01,823 --> 00:08:05,827
and he finally built up
a confidence within himself
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that he could do
what he desired to do.
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MAN:
He had a deep sense of
his own abilities, I think.
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He ran away from home a number
of times to become an artist
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and, uh, wound up in California
at a very early age studying art
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and, uh, he even said
he was going to be famous
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before he was 30.
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NARRATOR:
In his 20s, Gutzon moved
from northern California
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to London to Paris, painting
landscapes and portraits,
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trying on different styles,
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00:08:39,728 --> 00:08:43,932
supporting himself and his first
wife with marginal success.
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As he passed 30, Borglum was
near broke, failing at marriage,
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and worse, unknown.
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CARTER:
He was very distraught
when he was in Europe
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and he didn't feel
like he was making money,
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he didn't feel like
he had a name for himself.
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He wasn't happy,
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and he wanted
to change all that.
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He wanted to be...
be recognized.
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NARRATOR:
While in Paris, Borglum found
his pole star, Auguste Rodin.
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Rodin's work
was sculpture cast anew--
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modern, evocative
and talked about.
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00:09:21,102 --> 00:09:25,106
In the glow that surrounded
the great artist,
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Borglum saw a reflection
of his own future.
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CARTER:
In 1901, when he came back
to the United States,
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he just burst into New York City
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sort of determined to become
a very successful sculptor.
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And within
those first ten years,
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he designed over a hundred
pieces for St. John the Divine
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in New York City,
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he'd sold the marble Lincoln
for the Rotunda,
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he'd sold the Mares of Diomedes
to the Metropolitan.
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00:09:51,766 --> 00:09:53,968
He'd done the Mackay statue
in Reno, Nevada.
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He'd done Sheridan
in Washington, D.C.
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I mean, in the first ten years,
he was doing all these things.
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HOUSER:
Every really great artist has
something in their personality
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that they're able to impart
into their work
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that is unique
and is only them.
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00:10:24,766 --> 00:10:26,901
With Borglum,
I see the personality.
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When I touch those surfaces
a lot of time,
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I often expect almost to feel
a little glaze of electricity
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that's traversing
across the form.
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There's a life to it,
there's a sense of movement.
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And I think they were done
generally very quickly
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and very fast.
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My father said that
oftentimes he would come in
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and do something just like this
and then it'd be done.
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00:10:50,692 --> 00:10:53,628
Sometimes he would even have
his suit on and his Stetson,
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00:10:53,628 --> 00:10:56,497
wearing his Stetson hat, you
know, and he would come in
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and model for 15 minutes and he
would say, "Cast it,"you know,
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and he'd walk out.
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NARRATOR:
Gutzon Borglum's most gripping
creation was Gutzon Borglum.
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From an obscure
frontier boyhood,
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he'd made himself literate,
continental, magnetic,
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a friend to the rich and famous,
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lord of a 500-acre estate
in Connecticut.
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He was also rough around
the edges, sharp in places
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and apt to injure.
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His politics could be crude:
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anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant
and racist.
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Borglum lived a series of poses,
each meant to call attention,
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and he found that nothing drew
attention like a public scrap.
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He skirmished with the rector
of St. John the Divine,
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the mayor of New York,
President Woodrow Wilson.
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"He was no mute, shrinking
artist,"said one friend.
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"He knew how to answer back.
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And the press loved him."
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Gutzon's harshest attacks
were aimed at other artists.
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He called one
a "pinhead sculptor"
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and claimed that most of
the nation's public monuments
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were worthless
and should be dynamited.
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This was America's
Colossal Age, he said,
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and American artists
should celebrate it.
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HOUSER:
An artist has a great many
elements to work with
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to create something aesthetic.
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You have the warmth
and the coldness of color.
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00:12:20,181 --> 00:12:23,384
You have the smoothness
and the roughness of texture.
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You have the contrast
from light and dark.
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00:12:28,056 --> 00:12:30,591
You also have,
when you get to scale,
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you find that scale is an
aesthetic quality in itself.
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In other words, when you see
something extremely large,
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it has an impact on you
just because it's big.
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NARRATOR:
Borglum understood that most
Americans could not be moved
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by beauty alone.
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"Sheer mass is emotional,"
he once wrote.
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"There is something in sheer
volume that awes and terrifies,
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lifts us out of ourselves."
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In 1915, the sculptor
staked his reputation
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on the conviction
that America demanded scale.
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That year, at a mountain
in Georgia,
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he made bold to promise
the eighth wonder of the world:
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a 400-foot-high,
1,500-foot-wide monument
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00:13:13,935 --> 00:13:16,971
to the Confederacy.
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HOUSER:
When Borglum was called down
to Stone Mountain originally,
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he was invited
to do a small bust of Lee
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and put it on top
of the mountain.
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And he told the Daughters
of the Confederacy, he said,
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00:13:28,049 --> 00:13:30,218
"Putting a bust of Lee
on top of that mountain
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00:13:30,218 --> 00:13:33,855
would be like pasting
a postage stamp on a barn door."
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You know, "It's incongruous.
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"If you're going to talk
about a mountain that size,
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00:13:39,127 --> 00:13:41,062
"you have to talk
about a piece of sculpture
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that's commensurate
in one way or another."
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That sort of opened the door,
I think, to him
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00:13:46,968 --> 00:13:49,037
for mountain carving.
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00:13:49,037 --> 00:13:52,073
VHAY:
Stone Mountain was
the dream of Atlanta
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00:13:52,073 --> 00:13:54,108
and the southerners
that were down there,
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00:13:54,108 --> 00:13:57,712
to have a
commemorative memorial to Lee.
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00:13:57,712 --> 00:14:00,048
But they didn't have any money.
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00:14:00,048 --> 00:14:02,784
So he mortgaged
the place in Connecticut
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00:14:02,784 --> 00:14:06,020
for a tremendous sum of money
to get it started.
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00:14:06,020 --> 00:14:09,490
NARRATOR:
By then, Borglum was
a new father,
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00:14:09,490 --> 00:14:11,559
and he liked to keep
his family close.
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00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:14,762
So with his second wife, Mary,
and their two small children,
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00:14:14,762 --> 00:14:16,631
Lincoln and Mary Ellis,
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00:14:16,631 --> 00:14:19,700
Borglum set up
a second household in Georgia.
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00:14:19,700 --> 00:14:22,770
He gave up his smaller,
more personal work--
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00:14:22,770 --> 00:14:24,472
pipe dreams, he'd called them--
220
00:14:24,472 --> 00:14:26,774
and went to work at a scale
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00:14:26,774 --> 00:14:29,977
no American artist
had ever attempted.
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00:14:43,057 --> 00:14:44,959
The Confederate monument
turned out
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00:14:44,959 --> 00:14:46,694
to be an exhilarating fight...
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00:14:46,694 --> 00:14:49,363
and nearly disastrous.
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00:14:49,363 --> 00:14:52,366
After a decade of planning,
fund-raising and work,
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00:14:52,366 --> 00:14:55,770
Borglum had completed less than
a tenth of the carving.
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00:14:57,405 --> 00:15:00,141
The Stone Mountain Association
fired Borglum,
228
00:15:00,141 --> 00:15:02,343
accusing him
of "wasteful expenditures"
229
00:15:02,343 --> 00:15:05,079
and an "ungovernable temper."
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00:15:05,079 --> 00:15:09,417
In a fit of anger, Borglum
destroyed his working models.
231
00:15:09,417 --> 00:15:12,653
The association, claiming
ownership of those models,
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00:15:12,653 --> 00:15:15,990
swore out a warrant
for his arrest.
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00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:19,026
So at the beginning of 1925,
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00:15:19,026 --> 00:15:22,130
Gutzon Borglum
was a 57-year-old fugitive,
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00:15:22,130 --> 00:15:25,299
rheumatic, exhausted,
publicly humiliated
236
00:15:25,299 --> 00:15:28,603
and deeper in debt by the day.
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00:15:28,603 --> 00:15:31,005
VHAY:
After Stone Mountain fell apart,
238
00:15:31,005 --> 00:15:34,308
it was very hardscrabble
a lot of the time,
239
00:15:34,308 --> 00:15:36,244
but Mother was the one
that kept payments up
240
00:15:36,244 --> 00:15:38,479
and did the things
that had to be done
241
00:15:38,479 --> 00:15:40,548
and cut corners
when it was possible.
242
00:15:40,548 --> 00:15:42,817
CARTER:
Mary's letters would be,
243
00:15:42,817 --> 00:15:45,286
"How are we going to divide up
this hundred dollars?
244
00:15:45,286 --> 00:15:47,388
"Who needs to be paid this week?
245
00:15:47,388 --> 00:15:49,157
"Who's not going to be paid?
246
00:15:49,157 --> 00:15:51,726
And when is the next amount
of money coming in?"
247
00:15:51,726 --> 00:15:54,795
So they were down
to the very nitty-gritty.
248
00:15:54,795 --> 00:15:59,800
NARRATOR:
Gutzon raced from Washington
to North Carolina to Texas
249
00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:01,736
trying to drum up
new commissions,
250
00:16:01,736 --> 00:16:04,972
but the best offer fell
from the sky.
251
00:16:04,972 --> 00:16:08,342
South Dakota's state historian,
Doane Robinson,
252
00:16:08,342 --> 00:16:11,212
had seen newspaper accounts
of people driving to Georgia
253
00:16:11,212 --> 00:16:14,649
just to see Gutzon's
Stone Mountain carving.
254
00:16:14,649 --> 00:16:17,318
Robinson's far-off,
nearly forgotten state
255
00:16:17,318 --> 00:16:19,654
was in dire need
of roadside attraction,
256
00:16:19,654 --> 00:16:21,656
and he thought
this mountain-carving business
257
00:16:21,656 --> 00:16:24,458
might be just the ticket.
258
00:16:24,458 --> 00:16:26,060
So Robinson wrote Borglum
259
00:16:26,060 --> 00:16:29,463
and asked him to consider a new
project in the Black Hills,
260
00:16:29,463 --> 00:16:31,699
maybe statues
of Lewis and Clark,
261
00:16:31,699 --> 00:16:33,868
Buffalo Bill, Chief Red Cloud--
262
00:16:33,868 --> 00:16:36,671
something to draw the tourists.
263
00:16:36,671 --> 00:16:40,341
Borglum took Robinson's
suggestion and ran.
264
00:16:40,341 --> 00:16:43,110
"Western figures are
too parochial,"he announced.
265
00:16:43,110 --> 00:16:45,680
He would carve national heroes.
266
00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,715
The first three
were no-brainers:
267
00:16:47,715 --> 00:16:52,620
George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln.
268
00:16:52,620 --> 00:16:55,656
The fourth would be Borglum's
great personal friend
269
00:16:55,656 --> 00:16:58,759
and political hero,
Teddy Roosevelt.
270
00:16:58,759 --> 00:17:01,629
And Borglum said
he would carve his presidents
271
00:17:01,629 --> 00:17:05,032
on Mount Rushmore, a site
he chose for its broad face
272
00:17:05,032 --> 00:17:07,268
and a southeastern exposure
273
00:17:07,268 --> 00:17:10,004
that guaranteed
the most dramatic light.
274
00:17:10,004 --> 00:17:13,107
To his 12-year-old son, Lincoln,
he confided:
275
00:17:13,107 --> 00:17:16,377
"Nothing but the Almighty
can stop me
276
00:17:16,377 --> 00:17:18,879
from completing this task."
277
00:17:18,879 --> 00:17:22,683
TALIAFERRO:
When he got the call
to come to Mount Rushmore,
278
00:17:22,683 --> 00:17:25,453
this was a great chance
to redeem himself,
279
00:17:25,453 --> 00:17:29,790
to do all the things
he had ever wanted to do
280
00:17:29,790 --> 00:17:31,959
in a much larger scale
281
00:17:31,959 --> 00:17:36,764
than he'd even dare think about
until that point.
282
00:17:36,764 --> 00:17:38,599
He could taste it
283
00:17:38,599 --> 00:17:41,502
from the second he got off
the train in Rapid City.
284
00:17:44,372 --> 00:17:46,974
VHAY:
He had expected Stone Mountain
285
00:17:46,974 --> 00:17:50,278
to be the crowning achievement
in his career,
286
00:17:50,278 --> 00:17:53,648
and here he was presented
with a bigger crown.
287
00:17:53,648 --> 00:17:57,485
It was going to be
bigger, larger.
288
00:17:57,485 --> 00:17:59,687
And all he needed to do
289
00:17:59,687 --> 00:18:03,224
was to get a million dollars,
or whatever, to do it.
290
00:18:04,825 --> 00:18:06,627
NARRATOR:
Doane Robinson was thrilled
291
00:18:06,627 --> 00:18:09,463
and happy to let Borglum have
his way with the planning.
292
00:18:09,463 --> 00:18:12,400
"After all,"he said,
"God only makes a Michelangelo
293
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:13,834
"or a Gutzon Borglum
294
00:18:13,834 --> 00:18:17,605
once every thousand years."
295
00:18:17,605 --> 00:18:21,409
The remainder of the state
was less enthusiastic.
296
00:18:21,409 --> 00:18:23,044
That Mount Rushmore stood
297
00:18:23,044 --> 00:18:24,845
on ground sacred
to the Lakota Sioux
298
00:18:24,845 --> 00:18:26,947
wasn't even the big problem.
299
00:18:26,947 --> 00:18:29,617
In the 1920s, South Dakotans
simply didn't have
300
00:18:29,617 --> 00:18:32,953
a lot of spare cash
for public monuments.
301
00:18:32,953 --> 00:18:36,791
A year after Borglum's plea
for $50,000 seed money,
302
00:18:36,791 --> 00:18:39,527
locals had raised only $5,000.
303
00:18:39,527 --> 00:18:41,028
And the proposed project
304
00:18:41,028 --> 00:18:42,997
hadn't exactly brought honor
to the state.
305
00:18:42,997 --> 00:18:45,666
In fact, Mount Rushmore
was a bit of a knee-slapper
306
00:18:45,666 --> 00:18:47,401
around the country.
307
00:18:47,401 --> 00:18:49,470
"Borglum is about to destroy
another mountain,"
308
00:18:49,470 --> 00:18:51,605
wrote one newspaper back east.
309
00:18:51,605 --> 00:18:55,176
"Thank God it's in South Dakota,
where no one will ever see it."
310
00:18:58,512 --> 00:19:01,148
The sculptor had
only one solid asset:
311
00:19:01,148 --> 00:19:04,051
South Dakota senator
Peter Norbeck.
312
00:19:04,051 --> 00:19:06,721
Peter Norbeck was the son
of Norwegian immigrants,
313
00:19:06,721 --> 00:19:08,456
born in a sod dugout
314
00:19:08,456 --> 00:19:11,325
and raised poor
on the South Dakota plains.
315
00:19:11,325 --> 00:19:15,629
He was stout, plainspoken,
and quietly ambitious.
316
00:19:15,629 --> 00:19:19,133
As a young man, he'd made
a fortune drilling wells
317
00:19:19,133 --> 00:19:21,435
and then moved to politics.
318
00:19:21,435 --> 00:19:23,237
WEGNER:
Grandpa Norbeck
has been described
319
00:19:23,237 --> 00:19:27,708
as as rough
as the Norwegian northern pines,
320
00:19:27,708 --> 00:19:30,611
but also with the soul
of an artist.
321
00:19:30,611 --> 00:19:33,381
His formal education
was very limited,
322
00:19:33,381 --> 00:19:37,985
but somewhere in there,
he found the interest to pursue
323
00:19:37,985 --> 00:19:42,156
these more intellectual
and artistic endeavors.
324
00:19:42,156 --> 00:19:45,226
VHAY:
He supported Dad in everything.
325
00:19:45,226 --> 00:19:46,994
He got very cross with him
at times,
326
00:19:46,994 --> 00:19:48,562
when Dad would demand more money
327
00:19:48,562 --> 00:19:51,665
and had to have more money.
328
00:19:51,665 --> 00:19:55,770
But also, I think that
Senator Norbeck was a bridge
329
00:19:55,770 --> 00:19:58,739
between Dad
and the local people.
330
00:19:58,739 --> 00:20:04,378
WEGNER:
He saw this as an opportunity to
bring people to the Black Hills.
331
00:20:04,378 --> 00:20:05,746
Any tourists, any people
332
00:20:05,746 --> 00:20:07,848
we could bring into South Dakota
from the outside
333
00:20:07,848 --> 00:20:10,017
brought their wallet,
their dollars with them.
334
00:20:10,017 --> 00:20:11,685
And any outside dollars
in this state
335
00:20:11,685 --> 00:20:15,189
that could be brought in
were desperately needed.
336
00:20:22,062 --> 00:20:23,798
NARRATOR:
What Norbeck did first
337
00:20:23,798 --> 00:20:25,666
was convince
President Calvin Coolidge
338
00:20:25,666 --> 00:20:27,735
to spend the summer
in the Black Hills,
339
00:20:27,735 --> 00:20:29,837
maybe take in
the mountain scenery,
340
00:20:29,837 --> 00:20:31,138
do a little fishing.
341
00:20:36,243 --> 00:20:38,546
Even before Coolidge
got to town,
342
00:20:38,546 --> 00:20:42,216
Rapid City was fevered
with Babbitt-like boosterism.
343
00:20:42,216 --> 00:20:45,052
And the Rapid City Commercial
Club renewed its drive
344
00:20:45,052 --> 00:20:48,289
to raise cash
for Senator Norbeck's carving.
345
00:20:48,289 --> 00:20:50,724
By the time
the president arrived,
346
00:20:50,724 --> 00:20:54,562
the Rushmore Association
had $42,000 in the bank,
347
00:20:54,562 --> 00:20:56,730
and Borglum was
in a lather, too,
348
00:20:56,730 --> 00:20:59,867
planning a second, and more
extravagant, dedication,
349
00:20:59,867 --> 00:21:05,206
one the president could attend,
with the national press in tow.
350
00:21:05,206 --> 00:21:08,576
And on that August day,
Silent Cal made a speech
351
00:21:08,576 --> 00:21:11,879
that surprised even Borglum.
352
00:21:11,879 --> 00:21:13,214
He started out by saying,
353
00:21:13,214 --> 00:21:16,383
"We have come here
to dedicate a cornerstone
354
00:21:16,383 --> 00:21:19,286
laid by the hand
of the Almighty."
355
00:21:19,286 --> 00:21:21,255
Further in the speech, he said,
356
00:21:21,255 --> 00:21:22,857
"The people of South Dakota
357
00:21:22,857 --> 00:21:25,826
had been bearing this burden
so far"-- which they had not--
358
00:21:25,826 --> 00:21:27,862
and he thought the government
ought to help.
359
00:21:27,862 --> 00:21:31,499
And this was the beginning
of getting government support.
360
00:21:31,499 --> 00:21:34,335
NARRATOR:
With Coolidge's support,
361
00:21:34,335 --> 00:21:36,237
Norbeck pushed a bill
through Congress
362
00:21:36,237 --> 00:21:39,707
authorizing federal matching
funds for Mount Rushmore:
363
00:21:39,707 --> 00:21:43,878
one government dollar
for every private dollar raised.
364
00:21:43,878 --> 00:21:46,480
The problem was, in 1929,
365
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,350
there had been
only $50,000 raised.
366
00:21:49,350 --> 00:21:52,620
Still, with less than ten
percent of his budget in hand,
367
00:21:52,620 --> 00:21:54,955
Gutzon Borglum rushed ahead,
368
00:21:54,955 --> 00:21:57,258
anxious to answer
the big question:
369
00:21:57,258 --> 00:22:00,694
Could this colossal carving
be done?
370
00:22:00,694 --> 00:22:05,132
It was 500 feet to the top
of Mount Rushmore.
371
00:22:05,132 --> 00:22:08,068
Nobody could be sure how much
carvable granite existed
372
00:22:08,068 --> 00:22:11,171
beneath the richly creviced
surface.
373
00:22:11,171 --> 00:22:13,974
Long, frozen winters would make
work nearly impossible
374
00:22:13,974 --> 00:22:16,310
four months a year.
375
00:22:16,310 --> 00:22:18,012
Even more troubling to Borglum
376
00:22:18,012 --> 00:22:21,782
was the pool of men available
to do the work.
377
00:22:27,354 --> 00:22:30,658
Getting able bodies
wasn't the hard part.
378
00:22:30,658 --> 00:22:33,761
Jobs were scarce
in the Black Hills in 1929,
379
00:22:33,761 --> 00:22:35,629
and Mount Rushmore offered
380
00:22:35,629 --> 00:22:38,365
some of the highest-paying work
around.
381
00:22:38,365 --> 00:22:40,834
But as dozens of men
started to sign on,
382
00:22:40,834 --> 00:22:44,438
Borglum realized he was going
to have to depend on locals--
383
00:22:44,438 --> 00:22:46,874
the "untutored miners,"
he called them.
384
00:22:49,743 --> 00:22:54,949
SMITH:
A lot of these guys were tough,
rough, brawling kind of guys.
385
00:22:54,949 --> 00:22:58,986
They used to say, uh,
that the Keystone Boys' playpens
386
00:22:58,986 --> 00:23:01,622
were fenced with barbed wire.
387
00:23:01,622 --> 00:23:04,224
And that they only turned
the other cheek
388
00:23:04,224 --> 00:23:06,427
when they were delivering
a left hook.
389
00:23:20,374 --> 00:23:23,611
MAN:
It didn't take
too much training, say,
390
00:23:23,611 --> 00:23:26,580
to drill holes and so forth
and run a jackhammer.
391
00:23:26,580 --> 00:23:30,751
It just took a lot of guts,
you might say.
392
00:23:30,751 --> 00:23:35,623
Some people went up there and
worked one day, I've been told,
393
00:23:35,623 --> 00:23:37,124
and that was all they wanted.
394
00:23:37,124 --> 00:23:40,761
They couldn't stand the heighth
and the dust and so forth.
395
00:23:42,730 --> 00:23:46,500
MAN:
It was pretty tough for your
first time going over there
396
00:23:46,500 --> 00:23:49,069
and hanging in a bosun chair
397
00:23:49,069 --> 00:23:51,472
and trying to punch holes
in the granite.
398
00:23:53,474 --> 00:23:54,908
It took a lot of practice.
399
00:23:54,908 --> 00:23:57,344
And you didn't get much done
your first day,
400
00:23:57,344 --> 00:23:59,246
I'll tell you that.
401
00:24:00,648 --> 00:24:03,584
Most of the jackhammers weighed
40 or 50 pounds.
402
00:24:03,584 --> 00:24:07,921
And then you had to carry
your steel with you, also.
403
00:24:07,921 --> 00:24:13,127
So you had quite a load
going down there.
404
00:24:16,196 --> 00:24:21,101
MAN:
The wind was always a-blowing,
and it'd be pretty gusty.
405
00:24:21,101 --> 00:24:23,404
The wind always blew up there,
seemed like.
406
00:24:23,404 --> 00:24:29,143
They was hanging
with a little 3/8-inch cable.
407
00:24:29,143 --> 00:24:32,680
And that cable looked
pretty small to me,
408
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,115
to hold them guys up there.
409
00:24:35,115 --> 00:24:37,985
And then they'd just
shake pieces out of them
410
00:24:37,985 --> 00:24:39,753
when they'd turn them
jackhammers on.
411
00:24:53,634 --> 00:24:56,070
NARRATOR:
Once the men had blasted
off the surface rock,
412
00:24:56,070 --> 00:24:57,838
leaving a giant egg-shaped mass
413
00:24:57,838 --> 00:25:00,207
where Washington's face
could be sculpted,
414
00:25:00,207 --> 00:25:02,076
Borglum spent days watching
415
00:25:02,076 --> 00:25:04,845
the light and shadow play
on the expanse,
416
00:25:04,845 --> 00:25:07,181
then decided to rotate the face
417
00:25:07,181 --> 00:25:09,416
20 degrees
from his original plan.
418
00:25:09,416 --> 00:25:13,120
After that, the sculptor
and assistants like Ivan Houser
419
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,222
set to re-creating
the studio models
420
00:25:15,222 --> 00:25:17,591
on the side of the mountain.
421
00:25:17,591 --> 00:25:20,794
The commonly used methods
didn't apply.
422
00:25:20,794 --> 00:25:22,896
The mountain was simply too big.
423
00:25:22,896 --> 00:25:24,965
So Borglum turned the page back
to a technique
424
00:25:24,965 --> 00:25:27,401
devised by the ancient Greeks.
425
00:25:27,401 --> 00:25:30,070
HOUSER:
In doing a big piece
of sculpture,
426
00:25:30,070 --> 00:25:33,373
one of the problems, of course,
is the enlarging.
427
00:25:33,373 --> 00:25:38,212
You're trying to locate points
in space at one scale,
428
00:25:38,212 --> 00:25:39,646
and then you try to locate
429
00:25:39,646 --> 00:25:41,615
those same points in space
at another scale.
430
00:25:41,615 --> 00:25:45,352
So what they did was, you have
a beam coming straight out
431
00:25:45,352 --> 00:25:47,688
from a point
that turns on a swivel,
432
00:25:47,688 --> 00:25:51,024
and you can note the degrees
at which it is turned.
433
00:25:51,024 --> 00:25:53,761
And so, as you turn the one on
the little model and you can...
434
00:25:53,761 --> 00:25:56,396
Say it's off 30 degrees,
off to the right,
435
00:25:56,396 --> 00:25:57,898
and it's out
so many measurements,
436
00:25:57,898 --> 00:26:00,234
and down so far
and then in so far,
437
00:26:00,234 --> 00:26:01,869
and you can locate
a specific point
438
00:26:01,869 --> 00:26:04,171
on Washington's cheek,
for instance.
439
00:26:04,171 --> 00:26:07,441
So then you can do the same
thing up on the mountain.
440
00:26:16,116 --> 00:26:19,153
CLIFFORD:
This is what they called
honeycombing.
441
00:26:19,153 --> 00:26:24,491
This was the next to the last
step of finishing the faces.
442
00:26:24,491 --> 00:26:26,360
And they would drill
these holes in.
443
00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:29,263
The pointers or Mr. Borglum
would tell them
444
00:26:29,263 --> 00:26:30,798
how deep to drill the holes.
445
00:26:30,798 --> 00:26:33,767
You can see they were taking off
more rock down here
446
00:26:33,767 --> 00:26:35,035
than they were up here.
447
00:26:35,035 --> 00:26:39,840
And it was probably
right close to the face,
448
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,676
maybe it was on, like,
on a cheek
449
00:26:42,676 --> 00:26:44,411
or something like that.
450
00:26:44,411 --> 00:26:50,818
And they would take
a sharp, pointed piece of steel
451
00:26:50,818 --> 00:26:53,086
and they would hit
in each one of these holes.
452
00:26:53,086 --> 00:26:55,255
Eventually,
this rock would pop off.
453
00:26:55,255 --> 00:26:57,791
And then they would use
a bumping hammer--
454
00:26:57,791 --> 00:26:59,560
they called it bumping--
455
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:01,328
and that would
smooth the rock up
456
00:27:01,328 --> 00:27:02,696
just like it is today
457
00:27:02,696 --> 00:27:05,299
that you see it on the mountain.
458
00:27:21,615 --> 00:27:23,517
NARRATOR:
Independence Day, 1930,
459
00:27:23,517 --> 00:27:26,486
just more than a year
from the day real work began,
460
00:27:26,486 --> 00:27:28,922
Gutzon Borglum revealed
to the world
461
00:27:28,922 --> 00:27:31,725
the first great granite visage.
462
00:27:34,361 --> 00:27:36,597
July 5, Mount Rushmore
was a dateline
463
00:27:36,597 --> 00:27:38,832
in papers across the country.
464
00:27:40,234 --> 00:27:43,403
Through that summer, newsreels
of the dedication played
465
00:27:43,403 --> 00:27:45,873
at theaters nationwide.
466
00:27:45,873 --> 00:27:48,809
Suddenly, Rushmore
was a fixed point
467
00:27:48,809 --> 00:27:51,378
in the American consciousness.
468
00:27:53,013 --> 00:27:55,315
And as work
on Washington continued,
469
00:27:55,315 --> 00:27:57,217
tourists began making the trek
470
00:27:57,217 --> 00:28:00,220
to see the strange sight
in the Black Hills.
471
00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:05,092
In the first year alone, 27,000
people visited Mount Rushmore,
472
00:28:05,092 --> 00:28:08,262
now billed as
"the shrine of democracy."
473
00:28:09,663 --> 00:28:13,367
The early success confirmed
Borglum's every plan.
474
00:28:13,367 --> 00:28:16,336
Now his men could race
to the finish.
475
00:28:16,336 --> 00:28:17,638
The entire carving--
476
00:28:17,638 --> 00:28:20,340
four figures, each complete
to the waist--
477
00:28:20,340 --> 00:28:23,410
would be done inside
of four years, he figured.
478
00:28:25,345 --> 00:28:27,514
He'd figured wrong.
479
00:28:37,224 --> 00:28:40,360
Within weeks
of the Washington dedication,
480
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:42,362
bad news began to pile up.
481
00:28:42,362 --> 00:28:45,766
Borglum had spent so much
on the dedication ceremony
482
00:28:45,766 --> 00:28:48,235
that money ran out
at the end of July,
483
00:28:48,235 --> 00:28:51,038
and work on the mountain
slowed to a crawl.
484
00:28:51,038 --> 00:28:54,308
Rushmore's great champion,
Senator Peter Norbeck,
485
00:28:54,308 --> 00:28:56,977
was diagnosed with cancer.
486
00:28:56,977 --> 00:28:59,746
The next year,
things only got worse.
487
00:29:02,115 --> 00:29:03,951
HOUSER:
They were aware, of course,
488
00:29:03,951 --> 00:29:07,054
that there were going to be
faults and cracks in the rock.
489
00:29:07,054 --> 00:29:09,957
Some of them
were hard to detect.
490
00:29:11,491 --> 00:29:15,095
In fact, they started Jefferson
off to Washington's right,
491
00:29:15,095 --> 00:29:17,864
and they found out there
wasn't enough stone there.
492
00:29:17,864 --> 00:29:21,802
The stone was too crumbly and
it just wasn't of good quality.
493
00:29:21,802 --> 00:29:26,073
CARTER:
They had to blast that off
after 18 months of work,
494
00:29:26,073 --> 00:29:28,575
which must have been
heartbreaking to do that.
495
00:29:28,575 --> 00:29:30,978
As tight as money was,
and then to blast off
496
00:29:30,978 --> 00:29:33,080
what they'd spent
all that time doing.
497
00:29:37,985 --> 00:29:39,720
NARRATOR:
By the end of 1931,
498
00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,657
the Rushmore Association
was $16,000 in the red,
499
00:29:43,657 --> 00:29:47,561
with little hope
of raising more private money.
500
00:29:47,561 --> 00:29:50,664
WEGNER:
They had this
almost double whammy.
501
00:29:50,664 --> 00:29:54,134
The entire country,
in fact much of the world,
502
00:29:54,134 --> 00:29:58,538
was wrapped up in this
horrendous financial depression.
503
00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:02,242
Then on top of that
was the dust bowl days.
504
00:30:04,911 --> 00:30:07,948
There was no rain; the farmers
could raise no crops.
505
00:30:07,948 --> 00:30:11,318
What little they could raise, it
was almost impossible to market.
506
00:30:13,754 --> 00:30:16,123
They were leaving the state
in droves.
507
00:30:16,123 --> 00:30:20,360
Those who stayed wondered
why they were still here.
508
00:30:22,262 --> 00:30:23,997
And in, uh, 1932,
509
00:30:23,997 --> 00:30:27,134
the work at Rushmore
had ground to a total halt.
510
00:30:27,134 --> 00:30:28,935
And again there was the specter
511
00:30:28,935 --> 00:30:31,671
of this whole thing
just never being completed.
512
00:30:31,671 --> 00:30:33,974
INTERVIEWER:
When do you think
this work
513
00:30:33,974 --> 00:30:35,342
will be completed,
Mr. Borglum?
514
00:30:35,342 --> 00:30:36,877
I'm trying to finish it
515
00:30:36,877 --> 00:30:40,614
so that the figures will be done
by 1935 sufficiently...
516
00:30:40,614 --> 00:30:43,917
VHAY:
My father never wanted to admit
any type of failure,
517
00:30:43,917 --> 00:30:46,887
and certainly he didn't want
to admit it.
518
00:30:46,887 --> 00:30:51,358
He, I'm sure, did with... with
Mother, but he didn't with us.
519
00:30:51,358 --> 00:30:53,960
I mean, it was always
going to be...
520
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,663
everything was going to be
all right.
521
00:30:56,663 --> 00:31:00,100
He didn't show any despair,
even to Mary very much.
522
00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:03,970
One letter that I found where
he was in Washington for months
523
00:31:03,970 --> 00:31:06,073
trying to get money
for Rushmore.
524
00:31:06,073 --> 00:31:09,109
It was a bad time,
and he wrote to her and said,
525
00:31:09,109 --> 00:31:11,545
"I'm just sick
about what's happening,
526
00:31:11,545 --> 00:31:14,181
but this is the time
to be courageous."
527
00:31:14,181 --> 00:31:17,751
And you know, I think his spirit
just kept him going
528
00:31:17,751 --> 00:31:19,453
and Mary kept him going.
529
00:31:19,453 --> 00:31:21,354
I don't think he would have been
able to carry on
530
00:31:21,354 --> 00:31:22,656
if it hadn't been for my mother.
531
00:31:22,656 --> 00:31:24,624
She was always there,
532
00:31:24,624 --> 00:31:28,361
not driving him
but building up his ego,
533
00:31:28,361 --> 00:31:33,066
and making him aware
that he was a great sculptor.
534
00:31:35,168 --> 00:31:37,904
NARRATOR:
Even in the darkest days
of Rushmore,
535
00:31:37,904 --> 00:31:39,606
Gutzon never lacked for ego.
536
00:31:39,606 --> 00:31:42,809
People who held sway,
he liked to keep them informed.
537
00:31:42,809 --> 00:31:45,479
Congressmen, senators,
oil tycoons,
538
00:31:45,479 --> 00:31:48,882
William Randolph Hearst,
the Duke of Windsor--
539
00:31:48,882 --> 00:31:52,786
he wired them all,
and often collect.
540
00:31:52,786 --> 00:31:55,722
VHAY:
He corresponded with anybody
you could think of,
541
00:31:55,722 --> 00:31:57,858
and I mean from
the heads of state on down
542
00:31:57,858 --> 00:31:59,860
to the... practically
the garbage man.
543
00:32:01,328 --> 00:32:02,896
Probably not the garbage man
544
00:32:02,896 --> 00:32:04,965
because he probably
hadn't paid them.
545
00:32:04,965 --> 00:32:06,500
(laughs)
546
00:32:16,009 --> 00:32:18,178
HAYES:
He was coming across the state
547
00:32:18,178 --> 00:32:20,213
and he stopped
at a little station
548
00:32:20,213 --> 00:32:22,482
and, uh, he wanted
to fill up the car.
549
00:32:22,482 --> 00:32:24,951
And, uh, the young station
attendant, you know, says,
550
00:32:24,951 --> 00:32:27,621
"Well, you know,
I have to have money first."
551
00:32:27,621 --> 00:32:29,789
He says, "Well, don't you know
who I am?"
552
00:32:29,789 --> 00:32:32,692
And the attendant said,
"I know exactly who you are.
553
00:32:32,692 --> 00:32:35,128
That's why I have to have
the money first."
554
00:32:35,128 --> 00:32:39,199
SMITH:
He felt that he should have
free gasoline if he wanted it,
555
00:32:39,199 --> 00:32:41,067
he saw movies without paying,
556
00:32:41,067 --> 00:32:43,270
and his personality
was so powerful
557
00:32:43,270 --> 00:32:45,338
they let him go ahead and do it.
558
00:32:45,338 --> 00:32:46,940
As he said many times,
559
00:32:46,940 --> 00:32:49,709
"I'm giving these people
in the Black Hills an asset
560
00:32:49,709 --> 00:32:51,678
"that'll bring in
billions of dollars
561
00:32:51,678 --> 00:32:55,148
and they're persecuting me over
a piddling parcel of groceries."
562
00:32:56,783 --> 00:33:00,187
NARRATOR:
Where money was concerned,
Gutzon was fearless.
563
00:33:00,187 --> 00:33:03,523
He spent himself and his
projects into the hole today,
564
00:33:03,523 --> 00:33:05,859
convinced he could win
more tomorrow.
565
00:33:08,094 --> 00:33:09,696
WEGNER:
Borglum had this tendency
566
00:33:09,696 --> 00:33:11,364
to show up in Washington
unannounced
567
00:33:11,364 --> 00:33:12,766
and appear before committees
568
00:33:12,766 --> 00:33:17,704
and attempt to schedule
appointments with the president.
569
00:33:17,704 --> 00:33:20,073
He would give one set
of financial projections
570
00:33:20,073 --> 00:33:23,043
to one committee or to one
senator or to one congressman,
571
00:33:23,043 --> 00:33:24,945
and within a matter
of hours or days,
572
00:33:24,945 --> 00:33:26,813
come up with another set
of figures,
573
00:33:26,813 --> 00:33:31,017
or he could say he could finish
this project for $250,000,
574
00:33:31,017 --> 00:33:33,820
when everybody sitting
in the room knew
575
00:33:33,820 --> 00:33:36,189
that there was no way
576
00:33:36,189 --> 00:33:40,660
in which that entire project
could be completed for $250,000.
577
00:33:40,660 --> 00:33:44,764
HOUSER:
A number of times my father
and Borglum were in the Senate
578
00:33:44,764 --> 00:33:46,967
seeking funding
for Mount Rushmore.
579
00:33:46,967 --> 00:33:50,370
So one time they were up
in the balcony at the Senate,
580
00:33:50,370 --> 00:33:52,439
and, uh, the bill
was on the floor
581
00:33:52,439 --> 00:33:54,074
and one of the senators stood up
582
00:33:54,074 --> 00:33:56,843
and he was raging against
Borglum, and he was calling,
583
00:33:56,843 --> 00:33:59,512
"Why are we... why are we trying
to appropriate funds
584
00:33:59,512 --> 00:34:00,714
for this crazy genius?"
585
00:34:00,714 --> 00:34:02,382
And then that triggered Borglum.
586
00:34:02,382 --> 00:34:05,418
Borglum jumped to his feet,
but before he could say anything
587
00:34:05,418 --> 00:34:08,288
my dad grabbed him by the
coattails and pulled him down,
588
00:34:08,288 --> 00:34:10,824
and he said, "He called
you a genius, didn't he?"
589
00:34:10,824 --> 00:34:13,660
(laughs)
590
00:34:15,929 --> 00:34:18,965
NARRATOR:
It was Senator Norbeck
who saved Mount Rushmore
591
00:34:18,965 --> 00:34:21,434
with an assist
from the deepening depression.
592
00:34:21,434 --> 00:34:26,172
At the end of 1932, as the
national economy slid downhill,
593
00:34:26,172 --> 00:34:29,276
President Herbert Hoover started
passing out relief money,
594
00:34:29,276 --> 00:34:32,545
and Norbeck snared 100,000
federal dollars
595
00:34:32,545 --> 00:34:34,581
for jobs on the mountain.
596
00:34:34,581 --> 00:34:37,651
Then he convinced
the National Park Service
597
00:34:37,651 --> 00:34:41,321
to take over the project,
guaranteeing more funding.
598
00:34:41,321 --> 00:34:44,024
(explosion)
599
00:34:52,599 --> 00:34:54,567
In the spring of 1933,
600
00:34:54,567 --> 00:34:57,070
after nearly a year and a half
of silence,
601
00:34:57,070 --> 00:34:59,973
work on the mountain
began again.
602
00:34:59,973 --> 00:35:01,474
And the central crew was back:
603
00:35:01,474 --> 00:35:04,778
Hoot Leach, Howdy Peterson
and his brother Merle,
604
00:35:04,778 --> 00:35:10,283
Jimmy Champion, Whiskey Art
Johnson, Palooka Payne.
605
00:35:11,785 --> 00:35:16,122
They all knew they'd be shut
down again for some reason,
606
00:35:16,122 --> 00:35:18,191
but they came back
just the same.
607
00:35:20,493 --> 00:35:22,729
SMITH:
One of the great miracles
of Rushmore
608
00:35:22,729 --> 00:35:25,432
is the miracle of the men,
those dedicated guys,
609
00:35:25,432 --> 00:35:27,767
the Red Andersons,
the Hoot Leaches,
610
00:35:27,767 --> 00:35:29,602
the Peterson boys and so on
611
00:35:29,602 --> 00:35:33,373
who came back and came back
and came back and came back.
612
00:35:36,176 --> 00:35:38,211
CLIFFORD:
Had they not come back,
613
00:35:38,211 --> 00:35:41,481
there would be no Mount Rushmore
as we know it today
614
00:35:41,481 --> 00:35:43,350
because Mr. Borglum,
615
00:35:43,350 --> 00:35:46,953
it was impossible for him
to train a new crew every year.
616
00:35:46,953 --> 00:35:49,756
But these men were dedicated
to the mountain.
617
00:35:49,756 --> 00:35:53,426
When the mountain would
shut down for lack of money
618
00:35:53,426 --> 00:35:57,630
or in the wintertime, they'd
all have to find another job.
619
00:35:57,630 --> 00:35:59,666
But when the spring
would come around
620
00:35:59,666 --> 00:36:01,735
and they'd get the call
to come back,
621
00:36:01,735 --> 00:36:03,536
they'd quit what they were doing
622
00:36:03,536 --> 00:36:05,705
and come back to work
at the mountain.
623
00:36:07,507 --> 00:36:10,977
SMITH:
Red Anderson said,
"At first it was just a job
624
00:36:10,977 --> 00:36:13,646
and just a crazy kind
of a job at that."
625
00:36:13,646 --> 00:36:17,217
But as time went by,
all of this started to change
626
00:36:17,217 --> 00:36:21,488
and they developed a sense,
came together, fused in a sense
627
00:36:21,488 --> 00:36:24,891
that they were creating
a great thing.
628
00:36:27,961 --> 00:36:31,064
NARRATOR:
The men stuck it out
in spite of their boss--
629
00:36:31,064 --> 00:36:34,567
the Chief, they called him,
but only behind his back.
630
00:36:34,567 --> 00:36:38,004
Borglum rarely talked to his
men, except to give orders.
631
00:36:38,004 --> 00:36:40,807
"He's a heck of a stone carver,"
said one,
632
00:36:40,807 --> 00:36:42,942
"but he ain't no sweet talker."
633
00:36:42,942 --> 00:36:44,644
BORGLUM:
I'm not satisfied
634
00:36:44,644 --> 00:36:48,248
with how it turns under there
and comes against the collar.
635
00:36:48,248 --> 00:36:49,616
You go on down now, Payne.
636
00:36:49,616 --> 00:36:52,652
I want
those points very
carefully examined.
637
00:36:52,652 --> 00:36:56,089
I'll be down there with you
in a few minutes.
638
00:36:56,089 --> 00:36:59,392
VHAY:
Dad might get furious at them
if they were stupid,
639
00:36:59,392 --> 00:37:01,561
because he could not stand
stupidity.
640
00:37:01,561 --> 00:37:03,463
Anybody could make
a mistake once,
641
00:37:03,463 --> 00:37:04,998
but not two
or three times,
642
00:37:04,998 --> 00:37:06,933
and if they did
two or three times
643
00:37:06,933 --> 00:37:08,802
he would usually
have them fired.
644
00:37:08,802 --> 00:37:11,137
And that was another
job that Lincoln had,
645
00:37:11,137 --> 00:37:12,739
because if it
was a good man,
646
00:37:12,739 --> 00:37:15,775
Lincoln would have
to talk him into
coming back again.
647
00:37:15,775 --> 00:37:18,011
And then Dad would
be sort of surprised
648
00:37:18,011 --> 00:37:19,646
to see him,
and then he'd say,
649
00:37:19,646 --> 00:37:21,714
"What have you
been doing, Lincoln?"
650
00:37:21,714 --> 00:37:26,820
NARRATOR:
Lincoln Borglum, Gutzon's only
son, was just 21 years old
651
00:37:26,820 --> 00:37:29,856
when the men went to work
on the new Jefferson head.
652
00:37:29,856 --> 00:37:31,524
But despite Lincoln's youth,
653
00:37:31,524 --> 00:37:34,461
Gutzon left his son in charge
of the mountain
654
00:37:34,461 --> 00:37:36,963
during his long
and frequent absences.
655
00:37:36,963 --> 00:37:39,799
CLIFFORD:
He grew up with the mountain.
656
00:37:39,799 --> 00:37:42,202
Working so close
with his father,
657
00:37:42,202 --> 00:37:44,103
it just had to be catchy.
658
00:37:44,103 --> 00:37:45,805
I mean, he had a vision also
659
00:37:45,805 --> 00:37:48,308
of what the mountain
was going to be like.
660
00:37:48,308 --> 00:37:50,844
You would never see him
sitting down.
661
00:37:50,844 --> 00:37:55,148
If you'd look up, why, Lincoln
would be up on top looking down
662
00:37:55,148 --> 00:37:58,685
or looking at the faces
where the men were carving.
663
00:37:58,685 --> 00:38:01,287
He was all over the mountain.
664
00:38:01,287 --> 00:38:05,658
You never saw him get mad
or chew anyone out.
665
00:38:05,658 --> 00:38:11,130
You could laugh with Lincoln
and... and have a great time.
666
00:38:11,130 --> 00:38:16,836
When we went on our baseball
trips, Lincoln would always go,
667
00:38:16,836 --> 00:38:20,807
and if we did something good,
why, he'd pat us on the back
668
00:38:20,807 --> 00:38:23,576
and tell us
what a good job we'd done.
669
00:38:23,576 --> 00:38:25,712
And he was just a great guy.
670
00:38:26,980 --> 00:38:29,516
NARRATOR:
Lincoln had a calm, easy manner
671
00:38:29,516 --> 00:38:31,985
his father relied on
more than anything
672
00:38:31,985 --> 00:38:34,153
to mend relationships
Gutzon broke.
673
00:38:34,153 --> 00:38:36,155
And throughout the mid-'30s,
674
00:38:36,155 --> 00:38:38,725
Gutzon was more combative
than ever.
675
00:38:40,326 --> 00:38:43,396
The Jefferson head
continued to vex.
676
00:38:43,396 --> 00:38:47,934
The men blasted down 60 feet
to find carvable rock,
677
00:38:47,934 --> 00:38:50,503
but even then, huge fissures
cut through the face.
678
00:38:50,503 --> 00:38:53,406
And there was a mass of feldspar
that had to be dug out,
679
00:38:53,406 --> 00:38:56,509
leaving a gaping hole
on the president's lip.
680
00:38:58,111 --> 00:38:59,812
Using Borglum's concoction
681
00:38:59,812 --> 00:39:02,682
of white lead, linseed oil
and granite dust,
682
00:39:02,682 --> 00:39:06,553
the men filled in the cracks
and divots as best they could.
683
00:39:06,553 --> 00:39:08,888
But it all took time and money.
684
00:39:08,888 --> 00:39:11,491
And with
the National Park Service
685
00:39:11,491 --> 00:39:13,560
now overseeing the project,
686
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,029
it was up to a Rapid City
farm implements dealer
687
00:39:16,029 --> 00:39:17,564
named John Boland
688
00:39:17,564 --> 00:39:20,500
to make sure money was spent
according to federal guidelines
689
00:39:20,500 --> 00:39:23,469
and not Gutzon's.
690
00:39:23,469 --> 00:39:27,607
When Borglum needed money,
he had to go to Boland and beg,
691
00:39:27,607 --> 00:39:30,076
and the sculptor
grew to resent it.
692
00:39:30,076 --> 00:39:34,113
"I've got to go to Rapid City,"
he told Red Anderson one day,
693
00:39:34,113 --> 00:39:37,750
"and punch a certain son of
a bitch right in the nose."
694
00:39:37,750 --> 00:39:39,319
Other days,
695
00:39:39,319 --> 00:39:42,755
Borglum threatened to walk away
from Mount Rushmore entirely,
696
00:39:42,755 --> 00:39:46,459
leaving the unfinished monument
like a scar on the Black Hills.
697
00:39:46,459 --> 00:39:47,794
With so much at stake,
698
00:39:47,794 --> 00:39:50,630
Senator Peter Norbeck's
most critical job
699
00:39:50,630 --> 00:39:54,534
was handling the explosive
and unpredictable artist.
700
00:39:54,534 --> 00:39:57,670
WEGNER:
Grandpa Norbeck
was the one person
701
00:39:57,670 --> 00:39:59,973
whom Borglum respected enough
702
00:39:59,973 --> 00:40:03,843
to accept his judgment
and conclusion about things.
703
00:40:03,843 --> 00:40:08,348
And in... in a number of his
heated arguments and conflicts
704
00:40:08,348 --> 00:40:10,383
with Boland in particular,
705
00:40:10,383 --> 00:40:13,419
but by no means confined
to John Boland,
706
00:40:13,419 --> 00:40:16,089
Grandpa Norbeck was able
to step in and resolve
707
00:40:16,089 --> 00:40:19,092
or at least partially resolve
some of the conflicts.
708
00:40:19,092 --> 00:40:21,794
And then something
would erupt all over again.
709
00:40:23,596 --> 00:40:27,867
NARRATOR:
By the end of 1934,
Peter Norbeck had had his fill.
710
00:40:27,867 --> 00:40:31,738
His four-year fight with cancer
had drained his energy
711
00:40:31,738 --> 00:40:33,773
and his good humor.
712
00:40:33,773 --> 00:40:36,175
"I have lately come to feel
that you will do something
713
00:40:36,175 --> 00:40:38,211
that will prevent
the completion of Rushmore,"
714
00:40:38,211 --> 00:40:39,679
he wrote to Borglum.
715
00:40:39,679 --> 00:40:42,949
"I have made over seven years
of effort in this work.
716
00:40:42,949 --> 00:40:46,019
"It's been a heavy drain
on my strength and purse.
717
00:40:46,019 --> 00:40:47,587
It keeps getting worse."
718
00:40:49,155 --> 00:40:51,391
But even as cancer
ate away at him
719
00:40:51,391 --> 00:40:53,426
and took his ability to speak,
720
00:40:53,426 --> 00:40:57,430
Peter Norbeck would not let
the Rushmore project fall apart.
721
00:40:57,430 --> 00:41:01,467
In 1935, he strode into
the Senate one last time
722
00:41:01,467 --> 00:41:04,570
and won a new
$200,000 appropriation.
723
00:41:04,570 --> 00:41:08,241
But he knew it would be
his last big fight.
724
00:41:09,876 --> 00:41:13,479
As the senator neared death,
he was philosophical.
725
00:41:13,479 --> 00:41:17,383
"A week after I am gone,
they will start to forget me.
726
00:41:17,383 --> 00:41:20,386
"A decade, and most people
of South Dakota
727
00:41:20,386 --> 00:41:23,189
will be unable
to even recall my name."
728
00:41:23,189 --> 00:41:27,060
It was Borglum's name,
he thought, that would endure.
729
00:41:28,861 --> 00:41:31,130
But in the summer of 1936,
730
00:41:31,130 --> 00:41:33,633
Peter Norbeck
was front and center
731
00:41:33,633 --> 00:41:36,436
to see President
Franklin Roosevelt dedicate
732
00:41:36,436 --> 00:41:38,671
the hard-won
Jefferson sculpture.
733
00:41:45,745 --> 00:41:48,748
ROOSEVELT:
There were two people
734
00:41:48,748 --> 00:41:52,318
who told me about this
in the early days.
735
00:41:52,318 --> 00:41:54,754
One of them, Mr. Borglum.
736
00:41:54,754 --> 00:41:57,523
And the other, Senator Norbeck.
737
00:41:57,523 --> 00:42:00,326
(applause)
738
00:42:13,005 --> 00:42:19,011
WEGNER:
It was one of the supreme days
of my grandfather's life.
739
00:42:19,011 --> 00:42:22,181
I think for him, uh...
I... at least I have wondered
740
00:42:22,181 --> 00:42:25,284
if it didn't become
a little like that of Borglum,
741
00:42:25,284 --> 00:42:29,288
that this was one of
the crowning accomplishments
742
00:42:29,288 --> 00:42:32,625
of his life,
to have made this possible.
743
00:42:32,625 --> 00:42:34,627
As my grandfather had said
744
00:42:34,627 --> 00:42:38,865
that Mount Rushmore is no longer
a joke, it's no longer a dream.
745
00:42:38,865 --> 00:42:41,534
It's real, it's there.
746
00:43:01,921 --> 00:43:04,223
CLIFFORD:
Mr. Borglum always complained
747
00:43:04,223 --> 00:43:07,226
that people bothered him
when he was doing his work
748
00:43:07,226 --> 00:43:08,828
but he would always stop
749
00:43:08,828 --> 00:43:12,298
and if someone wanted to ask a
question or something like that,
750
00:43:12,298 --> 00:43:15,735
he'd like to stop
and talk to the people, too,
751
00:43:15,735 --> 00:43:19,172
so he could explain
what he was accomplishing.
752
00:43:19,172 --> 00:43:21,974
He used to tell people,
"The faces are in the mountain.
753
00:43:21,974 --> 00:43:23,943
All I have to do
is bring them out."
754
00:43:27,780 --> 00:43:32,618
CARTER:
He never gave up
seeing it as great art.
755
00:43:32,618 --> 00:43:34,754
And a lot of people
would argue with that,
756
00:43:34,754 --> 00:43:36,923
that it was more of
an engineering project
757
00:43:36,923 --> 00:43:39,425
than anything else,
but he really saw it as art,
758
00:43:39,425 --> 00:43:41,294
that he was going to bring
759
00:43:41,294 --> 00:43:44,297
the life of those four people
to the forefront,
760
00:43:44,297 --> 00:43:48,134
just as you would if you were
doing a small statue of them.
761
00:43:53,005 --> 00:43:56,142
TALIAFERRO:
As you get closer
to Mount Rushmore,
762
00:43:56,142 --> 00:43:59,145
you can almost
see the thumbprint
763
00:43:59,145 --> 00:44:03,883
of a sculptor's hand in clay.
764
00:44:03,883 --> 00:44:07,520
Borglum would study it
at different times of day,
765
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:11,190
in different kinds of light,
and make adjustments
766
00:44:11,190 --> 00:44:14,293
the way an artist
would make adjustments
767
00:44:14,293 --> 00:44:18,865
with a little knife or with
a little chisel in the studio--
768
00:44:18,865 --> 00:44:21,901
little fiddling things
with the mountain
769
00:44:21,901 --> 00:44:26,706
that I'm sure cannot be seen
from the observation deck today,
770
00:44:26,706 --> 00:44:28,541
but mattered only to Borglum.
771
00:44:35,915 --> 00:44:38,251
NARRATOR:
Even as he passed age 70,
772
00:44:38,251 --> 00:44:41,120
Gutzon Borglum was still
trying to find ways
773
00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:42,889
to vivify his carving.
774
00:44:42,889 --> 00:44:44,690
In 1938 and '39,
775
00:44:44,690 --> 00:44:47,093
Abraham Lincoln
and Teddy Roosevelt
776
00:44:47,093 --> 00:44:49,662
were rounding into
recognizable form,
777
00:44:49,662 --> 00:44:53,466
but the sculptor was still
worrying every site and shading.
778
00:44:55,568 --> 00:44:58,638
"Have to climb down
over the face of Washington
779
00:44:58,638 --> 00:45:01,607
and back up the face
of Jefferson,"he wrote.
780
00:45:01,607 --> 00:45:06,412
"I ought to be getting tired
of it all, but I'm not.
781
00:45:06,412 --> 00:45:09,382
"I now see that I'll be able
to make a real work of art
782
00:45:09,382 --> 00:45:10,917
"of this big group.
783
00:45:10,917 --> 00:45:14,320
"Back in my heart, that has been
a doubt for many years.
784
00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:16,455
"I really have no help in that.
785
00:45:16,455 --> 00:45:19,792
In that, I'm absolutely alone."
786
00:45:22,895 --> 00:45:27,233
It was an image he cultivated,
this lonely fighter's posture,
787
00:45:27,233 --> 00:45:29,435
but there were people
whose contributions
788
00:45:29,435 --> 00:45:31,137
even Gutzon could not deny.
789
00:45:32,672 --> 00:45:34,540
Borglum may have
devised the plan
790
00:45:34,540 --> 00:45:37,009
to give a twinkle
to the presidential eyes,
791
00:45:37,009 --> 00:45:39,011
but it was the workmen
who sculpted
792
00:45:39,011 --> 00:45:41,047
the two-foot long
shafts of granite
793
00:45:41,047 --> 00:45:42,915
in the middle of each pupil,
794
00:45:42,915 --> 00:45:46,085
so that sunlight bouncing off
the exposed point
795
00:45:46,085 --> 00:45:48,187
gave life to the eyes.
796
00:45:49,922 --> 00:45:52,425
CARTER:
Gutzon seemed to have
complained a lot
797
00:45:52,425 --> 00:45:55,261
about the unskilled workers
that he was faced with,
798
00:45:55,261 --> 00:45:57,563
but actually he was
very proud of the men
799
00:45:57,563 --> 00:45:59,231
and very proud of the fact
800
00:45:59,231 --> 00:46:02,568
that he'd been able to train
these people, who were miners
801
00:46:02,568 --> 00:46:03,836
and who were just local,
802
00:46:03,836 --> 00:46:05,671
who'd never worked
on a mountain before,
803
00:46:05,671 --> 00:46:07,073
didn't know
anything about art,
804
00:46:07,073 --> 00:46:09,475
and that he'd been able
to take them and train them
805
00:46:09,475 --> 00:46:11,277
into doing
what he wanted done.
806
00:46:11,277 --> 00:46:15,014
SMITH:
There were things about him
that bothered them very much,
807
00:46:15,014 --> 00:46:17,850
but down underneath,
they developed a loyalty.
808
00:46:17,850 --> 00:46:21,887
It's amazing-- they developed a
basic loyalty to Gutzon Borglum.
809
00:46:21,887 --> 00:46:27,593
With all his flamboyance,
unpredictability, irascibility,
810
00:46:27,593 --> 00:46:31,197
there was some kind of
a flame in the man--
811
00:46:31,197 --> 00:46:33,366
a charisma, a something--
812
00:46:33,366 --> 00:46:36,068
that inspired a deeper loyalty.
813
00:46:38,237 --> 00:46:41,240
NARRATOR:
By 1940, Gutzon Borglum
had made himself
814
00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:42,875
someone extraordinary.
815
00:46:42,875 --> 00:46:45,244
He was the man
who carved mountains
816
00:46:45,244 --> 00:46:47,747
and he stood
America's highest peak.
817
00:46:47,747 --> 00:46:49,882
He'd achieved celebrity,
818
00:46:49,882 --> 00:46:54,453
even pitching ads for
Studebaker and Bromo Seltzer.
819
00:46:54,453 --> 00:46:56,022
(explosion)
820
00:46:56,022 --> 00:47:00,493
Still, Gutzon saw so much
to be done on his mountain.
821
00:47:00,493 --> 00:47:03,462
He meant to extend the
sculptures down to the waist,
822
00:47:03,462 --> 00:47:05,398
was at work
on a Hall of Records--
823
00:47:05,398 --> 00:47:06,966
a cavernous time capsule
824
00:47:06,966 --> 00:47:09,201
for storing
the important documents
825
00:47:09,201 --> 00:47:10,936
of the American democracy.
826
00:47:10,936 --> 00:47:12,405
But more than anything,
827
00:47:12,405 --> 00:47:14,974
he was still trying
to transform his mountain
828
00:47:14,974 --> 00:47:16,275
into a work of art,
829
00:47:16,275 --> 00:47:18,544
fighting the one thing
he couldn't beat:
830
00:47:18,544 --> 00:47:20,146
time itself.
831
00:47:25,518 --> 00:47:27,353
At the beginning of 1941,
832
00:47:27,353 --> 00:47:32,091
the coming world war
overwhelmed Mount Rushmore.
833
00:47:32,091 --> 00:47:33,492
After a dozen years,
834
00:47:33,492 --> 00:47:36,262
Congress finally
cut off funding for good.
835
00:47:38,397 --> 00:47:41,834
A week later,
Gutzon Borglum was dead,
836
00:47:41,834 --> 00:47:45,104
suddenly and unexpectedly
at age 73,
837
00:47:45,104 --> 00:47:47,673
from complications
following surgery.
838
00:47:54,847 --> 00:47:56,749
WEGNER:
Lincoln Borglum, of course,
839
00:47:56,749 --> 00:47:58,784
had taken over
after his father died.
840
00:47:58,784 --> 00:48:02,288
By then, a major part of
the work had been completed,
841
00:48:02,288 --> 00:48:04,523
but there were still
a fair amount
842
00:48:04,523 --> 00:48:06,692
of trimming and cleaning up
to do
843
00:48:06,692 --> 00:48:10,196
around the faces and...
and the collars and shoulders
844
00:48:10,196 --> 00:48:11,764
of some of the figures.
845
00:48:11,764 --> 00:48:13,666
And the great hall of records,
846
00:48:13,666 --> 00:48:16,368
which was... had been
another great ambition
847
00:48:16,368 --> 00:48:17,837
and dream of Borglum's,
848
00:48:17,837 --> 00:48:20,106
pretty much perished
in the process.
849
00:48:23,442 --> 00:48:27,246
The work at Rushmore just sort
of gradually drew to a close.
850
00:49:02,882 --> 00:49:06,585
NARRATOR:
It took 14 years
to carve Mount Rushmore.
851
00:49:06,585 --> 00:49:10,556
Men removed half a million tons
of granite,
852
00:49:10,556 --> 00:49:13,626
driving 120 feet deep in places.
853
00:49:13,626 --> 00:49:17,663
George Washington's face
is 60 feet long, his nose 20,
854
00:49:17,663 --> 00:49:20,966
and each eye
is 11 feet wide.
855
00:49:20,966 --> 00:49:24,170
Roosevelt's mustache
is 20 feet across;
856
00:49:24,170 --> 00:49:26,438
Lincoln's mole, 16 inches.
857
00:49:29,708 --> 00:49:35,548
The carving cost $989,992.32,
858
00:49:35,548 --> 00:49:39,185
almost all of it
from the United States treasury.
859
00:49:41,687 --> 00:49:44,790
For the money, America got
the biggest and oddest monument
860
00:49:44,790 --> 00:49:46,158
on the face of the earth,
861
00:49:46,158 --> 00:49:48,394
and one of the most compelling.
862
00:49:48,394 --> 00:49:52,431
Since 1930, more than 50 million
people have made pilgrimage
863
00:49:52,431 --> 00:49:54,700
to the remote cliffside shrine.
864
00:50:01,607 --> 00:50:03,275
CARTER:
I think in some ways,
865
00:50:03,275 --> 00:50:05,277
Mount Rushmore
was the worst legacy
866
00:50:05,277 --> 00:50:07,580
that... that Gutzon Borglum
could leave,
867
00:50:07,580 --> 00:50:10,616
because he always will be known
868
00:50:10,616 --> 00:50:14,386
as the sculptor
who did Mount Rushmore.
869
00:50:14,386 --> 00:50:17,256
And yet at the time
that he started the mountain,
870
00:50:17,256 --> 00:50:18,791
when he was 60 years old,
871
00:50:18,791 --> 00:50:20,593
he was well known
for being a sculptor
872
00:50:20,593 --> 00:50:23,829
of beautiful monuments
and beautiful pieces.
873
00:50:23,829 --> 00:50:26,131
And he was probably on his way
874
00:50:26,131 --> 00:50:30,002
to having a reputation
as a great American sculptor.
875
00:50:30,002 --> 00:50:34,139
I think that was really
overshadowed by Rushmore.
876
00:50:50,889 --> 00:50:53,993
CLIFFORD:
I look up on the mountain
877
00:50:53,993 --> 00:50:59,531
and I think of...
of Mr. Borglum--
878
00:50:59,531 --> 00:51:00,933
what a great man he was,
879
00:51:00,933 --> 00:51:04,837
what a wonderful sculptor
he was.
880
00:51:04,837 --> 00:51:08,941
I think of Lincoln, who was
a friend to all of the men.
881
00:51:12,244 --> 00:51:17,583
And then I think of all the men
that I worked with and knew,
882
00:51:17,583 --> 00:51:25,057
and how dedicated these men were
to the mountain,
883
00:51:25,057 --> 00:51:27,159
and they're all gone now.
884
00:51:31,764 --> 00:51:37,269
And...
885
00:51:37,269 --> 00:51:39,538
And I have to stop now.
886
00:51:39,538 --> 00:51:40,706
(chuckles)
887
00:51:44,677 --> 00:51:48,347
(crickets chirping)
888
00:51:48,347 --> 00:51:51,517
NARRATOR:
Like its sculptor,
Mount Rushmore is loud,
889
00:51:51,517 --> 00:51:56,121
demanding of attention,
and maddening.
890
00:51:56,121 --> 00:51:58,991
To naturalists,
the carving is an eyesore;
891
00:51:58,991 --> 00:52:01,427
to Native Americans,
a desecration.
892
00:52:01,427 --> 00:52:04,863
It stands as a monument
to energy and possibility,
893
00:52:04,863 --> 00:52:06,332
to national pride,
894
00:52:06,332 --> 00:52:10,235
and an often unbecoming
national self-satisfaction.
895
00:52:11,870 --> 00:52:15,474
And like the biggest and boldest
creations in America,
896
00:52:15,474 --> 00:52:19,111
Mount Rushmore was not built
on good intentions alone.
897
00:52:19,111 --> 00:52:20,979
It also stands as a monument
898
00:52:20,979 --> 00:52:23,382
to the colossal,
sometimes wounding,
899
00:52:23,382 --> 00:52:26,952
and surprisingly contagious
ambition of a single man.
900
00:52:29,355 --> 00:52:32,925
BORGLUM:
I am allowing
an extra three inches
901
00:52:32,925 --> 00:52:36,695
on all the features
of the various presidents
902
00:52:36,695 --> 00:52:38,831
in order to provide stone
903
00:52:38,831 --> 00:52:42,000
for the wear and tear
of the elements,
904
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,203
which cuts the granite
down an inch
905
00:52:44,203 --> 00:52:46,038
in a hundred thousand years.
906
00:52:46,038 --> 00:52:48,674
Three inches would require
300,000 years
907
00:52:48,674 --> 00:52:50,976
to bring the work
down to the point
908
00:52:50,976 --> 00:52:53,078
that I would like to finish it.
909
00:52:53,078 --> 00:52:56,548
In other words,
the work will not be done
910
00:52:56,548 --> 00:53:00,152
for another 300,000 years
as it should be.
75106
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