Thesis Statement: Carving Mount Rushmore National Memorial was a difficult undertaking with many setbacks.

Elaboration:

Work on Mount Rushmore National Memorial began in 1927 and took 14 years to complete. Only about 6½ of those years were actually spent on carving the monument, however. The project often started, then stopped, for a variety of reasons. Money for the project sometimes ran out, and the sculpture’s design occasionally became an issue. For example, Thomas Jefferson’s head was originally placed to the right of George Washington’s head, and was later redone on Washington’s left side. Then, several months before the sculpture was finally complete, sculptor Gutzon Borglum died. His son eventually completed the sculpture.



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