Empire: World History

374. The Dark Truth About Mount Rushmore

55 min

This episode of Empire: World History explores the dark history behind Mount Rushmore, from its origins as a sacred Lakota site called the Six Grandfathers to its seizure after the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie was broken following Custer's gold expedition. The podcast reveals sculptor Gutzon Borglum's ties to the Ku Klux Klan and his work on a Confederate monument, and highlights the ongoing controversy over the stolen Black Hills, including the Lakota's refusal of a $105 million Supreme Court settlement because the land was never for sale.

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Mount Rushmore was carved from a sacred Lakota mountain called the 'Six Grandfathers,' a site central to Lakota cosmology and spirituality.
2

90% of the carving was done with dynamite, yet no workers died during 14 years of construction—though many later suffered lung problems from silica dust.
3

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum had deep ties to the Ku Klux Klan, working on a Confederate monument at Stone Mountain and advising Klan leadership, though no evidence shows he formally joined the KKK.
4

In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled the seizure of the Black Hills was 'a more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings,' awarding $105 million, which the Lakota refused because the land was never for sale.
5

Geologists confirm Mount Rushmore cannot accommodate a fifth face, dashing any hopes of adding another president to the monument.

💬 Notable Quotes

"A more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history. — US Supreme Court, 1980"
"Here is the place American history shall march on the skyline. — Gutzon Borglum, on choosing the site for Mount Rushmore"
"The Lakota position is not that the Black Hills went for a bad price, it's that they were never for sale. — Matthew Davis, author"