Snapshot · Empire: World History
Gutzon Borglum had a close relationship with D.C. Stevenson, the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan and most powerful KKK figure in the US at the time, writing him letters described as 'terrible reading' from a modern perspective.
Where this was said
At 34:20 · chapter starts 33:20
The question of whether Borglum was a white supremacist is one Davis handles with scholarly care. The letters are damning: virulent anti-immigrant and anti-Jewish rhetoric runs throughout. He was giving KKK leaders introductions to national politicians and advising on Klan policy. His friendship with D.C. Stevenson — the Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan and the most powerful Klan figure in the US, later convicted of rape and murder — produced letters that Davis describes as 'terrible reading.' Davis's conclusion: Borglum was not an official KKK member and no evidence places him in a hood at a rally, but he was unquestionably sympathetic to the Klan's worldview and actively helped them achieve their political goals. Most damningly, his close relationship with Stevenson is entirely absent from Mount Rushmore's official narrative — as if those ten years of his life never existed.
After refusing to let the KKK pocket US Treasury funds meant for the Stone Mountain memorial, Borglum was fired, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he fled through the Georgian night to cross state lines. Within six months of that escape, he was standing atop Mount Rushmore for its first dedication — bringing all his ambitions and contradictions with him.
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