The Monument to the American Empire | Mt. Rushmore

Mount Rushmore isn't just a sculpture of four presidents, it's a monument to the creation of the American Empire. Let's talk about its formation and the reason why these four men were chosen.

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Photo Credits -

Film Credits -
Turteltaub, J. (Director). (2007). National Treasure: Book of Secrets [Motion picture]. Disney.

Music Credits -
"The X-Files" by Mark Snow for the television show by the same name.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

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Hashtags: #history #rushmore #mtrushmore #mountrushmore #sioux #standingrocksioux #presidentsday #president #washington #jefferson #lincoln #roosevelt #empire #americafirst #america

[Sam_on_YouTube]

George Washington only got 90.5% of the popular vote in 1789. That went up to 99% in 1792. 279 people votes against Washington.

[johnalanelson]

Another reason for Teddy Roosevelt being on Mount Rushmore is that he represented the energgy and freshness of 20th century presidents and of the 20th century in general

[Ratchet]

You're supposed to know about the articles of confederation way before college.

[asherael]

I goddamn love the $2 bill. It's the perfect piece of currency now that everything cheap costs $1.50-$1.99. I clean my bank out of 'em every time I'm making a withdrawal from the counter.

[gamepocalypsegaming]

The first election went more like: GEORGE PLEASE BE PRESIDENT
no
PLEASE
nO
PLEASEEEE
NOO

ugh fine

[waywardwillard]

THANK YOU for pointing out that where Obama was born is completely moot—because his mom is a US citizen. As someone who was born outside of the US and adopted and made a citizen, the “natural-born citizen” clause has made me irrationally angry for years—especially when it felt like I was the only one actually studying/trying in high school US Government classes.

[JackRackam]

I never realized there was such an emphasis on land acquisition in deciding the Rushmore presidents. In that case... yeah, what about Alaska and Hawaii and most especially what about the land gained during the Mexican American War and Oregon Treaty? How come we don't have Polk's face on a mountain?

[taitano]

HEY!! I'm from Guam and... Uh, yeah... No, I don't think I can get offended at that comment. My home is just a rock in the middle of the sea. And I like it that way.

[puts sunglasses back on and kicks back with an Orange Crush]

[ryanwiseman]

So Teddy wasn't on Mt. Rushmore because of his championing national parks?

[Gontzal]

Do you know the purchase of lousiana was invalid, Spain traded it with Napoleon on the condition that it could not be sold to any other country (the idea was to create a buffer zone)

[James--Parker]

As for Gorge Washington being elected unanimously. They didn't count the popular vote back then, but he was unanimously voted for by the electoral delegates (who are what people actually vote for.)

[MrIansmitchell]

Correction: most people who traveled between California and the rest of the US before the Transcontinental Railroad, didn't take a ship around the bottom of South America. They took a ship to Nicaragua, crossed Nicaragua overland, and then got on another ship. That's actually how Vanderbilt made much of his fortune, a company called the Accessory Transit Company. Panama was an alternative route, with a shorter overland crossing, however Nicaragua was more popular.

[tural]

Is it true the rent for Guantanamo Bay is paid, but Cuba refuses to accept the money? US - send that green to me. I’ll accept.

[SirNarax]

"If you can name that naval base, ten points to Gryffindor." *Sweats nervously* 1982!

[jaidengarcia]

I may be against Imperialism but “American Empire” has a nice ring to it

[Archaeopteryx]

Some Americans came to California via a route different than the two you mention.
One of my great-great grandmothers was a child when she, her siblings, and her mother came to California.
They took a ship from Maine, and walked across the Isthmus of Panama, and then took another ship to San Francisco.
It was less expensive than "rounding the Horn."
But they paid a different price. One of my great great's siblings caught a tropical disease and died in Panama.

[beautifulletdown]

I like how you snuck Civilizations in there ;)

[bradwconnors]

Great video. It’s also great to see how far you have come from a production standpoint from this video to your most recent ones. You should be super proud!

[mitchellbrown]

Great video! The situation with Puerto Rico does go a little deeper than the issue of seats in Congress. There have been quite a few referendums in Puerto Rico on the matter, in all of which but the most recent (I'll get to that in a minute) the Puerto Rican people voted to remain in the position they are in rather than opt for statehood or independence which are their other options. In the most recent referendum 97% voted for statehood. Issue solved right? that happened because those against statehood boycotted the referendum, and it had an incredibly low turnout of 23%. Boycotting elections is a stupid strategy by the way. So, yeah. Not a resounding yes for statehood to send to D.C. There are other problems, but that is the main one. Considering that in the past, states overwhelmingly wanted to join, this is a little different. If you're looking for a video topic it would be a good one. Anyways, great job!

[KnuxMaster]

3:24
About that:

He was elected "unanimously".
The way the electoral college worked back then, was electors got to pick two people, one for president and one for VP. All of the 69 electors picked Washington either as President or VP, so in that regard, he did.

However, on the states that allowed a popular vote, Washington won 90.5 percent of the popular vote. So it wasn't unanimous there.