Monument Men: The Road to Rushmore

A leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States, George Washington became a symbol of democracy and an ideal candidate for honoring on Mount Rushmore.

The author of the Declaration of Independence, a strong voice for the defense of liberty, and the architect behind the largest territorial expansion in United States history, this episode examines Thomas Jefferson's rightful place on Mount Rushmore.

A champion of the American Union in its darkest hour, Abraham Lincoln's unbreakable faith in the United States and his role in ending slavery earn him a place on Mount Rushmore.

A popular President whose respect for natural beauty was unequaled, and whose foreign policy brought several new territories under US control, Theodore Roosevelt takes the final space on Mount Rushmore.

The construction of Mount Rushmore was looked upon unfavorably by Native Americans who were promised the Black Hills in a treaty later broken by the United States. In order to honor the legacy of the Native Americans who lived in western South Dakota, an even larger monument of Crazy Horse is currently under construction.

The planning and construction of Mount Rushmore took nearly two decades. In this episode, meet the minds and sculptors behind one of America's most iconic landmarks.