HistoryExtra podcast The hidden history behind Mount Rushmore
11 snips
Mar 4, 2026 
Matthew Davis, historian and author of A Biography of a Mountain, explores Mount Rushmore's complex past and contested meanings. He traces the Black Hills' sacred importance to the Lakota, the seizure of the land, and sculptor Gutzon Borglum's controversial motivations. The conversation covers the monument's creation, shifting symbolism, and current debates over memory and stewardship.
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Treaty Breach Led To Federal Seizure
- The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie granted the Black Hills to the Lakota but was violated after Custer's 1874 gold expedition and the 1876 clash at Little Bighorn.
- Davis traces how gold discovery and national outrage led to federal seizure of the hills in 1877.
Borglum's Rise From Frontier Boy To Monumentalist
- Gutzon Borglum rose from a troubled Mormon frontier childhood to study with Rodin and become a celebrated American sculptor.
- Davis recounts Borglum's European training, early Lincoln sculptures, and move into huge public monuments.
Stone Mountain Connected Borglum To The Klan
- Stone Mountain tied Borglum to the reborn Ku Klux Klan and shaped his monument work with nativist, racist influences.
- Davis details Borglum's friendly ties to Klan leaders, his anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic stances, and the Klan's funding role at Stone Mountain.
