Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Designed and overseen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, and later his son Lincoln Borglum, the sculpture features 60-foot-high portraits of four significant presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. These presidents were chosen to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively.

Work on Mount Rushmore began in 1927 and was completed in 1941. The project was conceived by South Dakota historian Doane Robinson, who wanted to create an attraction that would promote tourism in the region. The mountain was named after Charles E. Rushmore, a New York lawyer who visited the area in 1885.

Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of the United States and is visited by nearly three million people each year. It is an emblem of democracy and the dynamism of the country’s history. The site also includes a museum with exhibits about the presidents and the making of the memorial, a walking trail, and an amphitheater where evening programs are held.

The monument has also been the subject of controversy, including disputes over land rights, as the Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux, and the U.S. government took the area from the tribe in violation of treaty agreements. Moreover, the memorial has sparked discussions about the legacies of the presidents depicted, especially in the context of the treatment of Indigenous peoples and other historical events.