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

Elaboration:

South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson was the first person to suggest a sculpture set in the state’s Black Hills. Robinson had originally chosen different subjects for the sculpture, but sculptor Gutzon Borglum disagreed with Robinson’s choices. He instead selected as his subject four U.S. presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Borglum thought these presidents best reflected the first 150 years of the country’s existence.



Is the elaboration effective, ineffective, or average?