Why the Presidents at Mount Rushmore were selected.

[Talyn]

Mt. Rushmore, in Keystone, S.D.

The presidents were selected on the basis of what each symbolized.

1. George Washington (L) represents the struggle for independence;
2. Thomas Jefferson (2nd L), the idea of government by the people;
3. Theodore Roosevelt (2nd R), for the 20th-century role of the United States in world affairs; and
4. Abraham Lincoln (R) for his ideas on equality and the permanent union of the states.

(Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)