Empire: World History

Podbit · Empire: World History

373. The Dark Truth About Mount Rushmore

Explore episode Jul 1, 2026
History
The Supreme Court Called It 'Dishonorable' — The Lakota Refused the Money Anyway

373. The Dark Truth About Mount Rushmore · Jul 1, 2026 History

In 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled the 1877 seizure of the Black Hills unconstitutional, calling it 'a more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings' in American history, and awarded the Lakota $105 million. The Lakota refused — and still refuse today, even as the settlement has grown to over $2 billion. Their position: the hills were never for sale, so there is no price to accept.

2m 25s

Where this was said

The Ghost Jefferson and the Unfinished Hall of Records

At 50:20 · chapter starts 49:20

Mount Rushmore is as much a monument to what was abandoned as to what was built. Jefferson was initially begun on Washington's right side before the team discovered there was not enough good granite and had to blast the half-finished face off and restart on the left. Washington's faint lapel outlines still hint at a grander plan for full torsos across all four presidents — a vision killed by perpetual funding shortfalls. Then there was the Hall of Records: Borglum's obsessive pet project, a grand chamber to be blasted into the rock behind the presidents' heads, housing original constitutional documents and smaller busts of Americans who had shaped the nation. Davis draws an ironic parallel to Trump's Garden of Heroes — the same patriotic instinct, a century apart. The Hall was never finished.

History
The Ghost Jefferson: What Didn't Make the Cut

373. The Dark Truth About Mount Rushmore · Jul 1, 2026 History

Jefferson was originally planned for Washington's right side, but the granite proved insufficient and the half-carved face had to be blasted off and relocated. Washington's faint lapel outlines are still visible — remnants of a plan to show torsos that never materialised due to funding shortfalls. The mountain is as much a monument to what was abandoned as to what was built.

1 min

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