Mount Rushmore: Fact, Fiction, Reality & Myth
Robert Allison is a professor of history at Suffolk University and teaches in the Harvard Extension School. He has received the Extension School’s Petra Shattuck Award for teaching and has been awarded the Suffolk’s Student Government Association award for teaching three times. Professor Allison has written books about the American Revolution, the history of Boston, and the Barbary Wars, and is co-editor of The Essential Debate on the Constitution. He is an elected Fellow of the American Antiquarian Society and the Massachusetts Historical Society, and President of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
Overview
We all know the four majestic figures looming over us from the heights of the iconic Mount Rushmore: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. But what is the real story behind this national landmark? Who decided to place this permanent landmark in South Dakota’s Black Hills? Who was the sculptor selected for this daunting task, and why? And why were these four presidents singled out for this colossal sculpture? In this course, Professor Bob Allison will explore the history behind this iconic American symbol.