Robinson’s next task was hiring a sculptor. He had read about Gutzon Borglum’s work on Stone Mountain in Georgia and asked him to come to South Dakota. At the time of his first view of Mount Rushmore in 1924, Borglum said, “America will march along that skyline.” Although he agreed to do to the project, Borglum wanted the monument to honor more than the American West. Instead, Borglum suggested it represent 150 years of American history. He chose George Washington (“Father of our Country”), Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independence), Teddy Roosevelt (opened the waters between the East and the West with the Panama Canal), and Abraham Lincoln (preserved the Union in one of our nation’s darkest times and brought equality to all) for their profound impact on the shaping of America.