Voters Strongly Support Mount Rushmore, Historic Statues

Most voters still rally around Mount Rushmore and historic statues around the country that may be out of line with modern-day sentiments. But there is growing support among those under 40 to do away with them.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 75% of Likely U.S. Voters do not believe that Mount Rushmore should be closed or changed because two of the four presidents it honors – George Washington and Thomas Jefferson - were slave owners. Seventeen percent (17%) believe the iconic memorial in South Dakota should be closed or changed. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

But this compares to 90% who opposed closing or changing Mount Rushmore when Rasmussen Reports first asked this question three years ago. 

Similarly, 71% still oppose removing the names of the early presidents like Washington and Jefferson who were slave owners from public places and taking down statues in their honor. Eighteen percent (18%) favor such moves. However, this compares to 88% and seven percent (7%) respectively in 2017.

The most notable change on both questions is among voters under 40. One-third (33%) of these younger voters are now ready to close or change Mount Rushmore and remove the names and statues of the early presidents who were slave owners. Roughly 10% of older voters agree in both cases.

Only 10% of all voters believe it is better to erase the wrongs of the past. Eighty-four percent (84%) disagree and say it is better to try to learn from them. But that’s down 10 points from the earlier survey.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted June 29-30, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Americans strongly reject the call by a leading Black Lives Matter activist to remove “white Jesus” from churches and elsewhere. His message resonates far stronger among black Americans than others.

Blacks and other minority voters are far more supportive than whites of changing Mount Rushmore and removing the names and statues of early presidents who were slave owners. But most voters in all three groups oppose such actions, with sizable majorities who agree that it’s better to try to learn from the wrongs of the past.

Twenty percent (20%) of voters under 40 say it is better to erase the wrongs of the past. Roughly five percent (5%) of their elders agree.

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Democrats want to close or change Mount Rushmore, a view shared by just nine percent (9%) of Republicans and 12% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Democrats by a similar margin are more enthusiastic about removing the names and statues of the early presidents who were slave owners.

Democrats (77%) are only slightly less likely than Republicans (89%) and unaffiliated voters (87%), though, to agree that it is better to try to learn from the wrongs of the past rather than erase them.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of all voters agreed with President Trump last July 4 when he said in a speech that “together we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told – the story of America. It is the epic tale of a great nation whose people have risked everything for what they know is right.” Twelve percent (12%) disagreed.

As recently as last November, 73% of American Adults said all Americans should be proud of this country’s history. LJust 14% said Americans should be ashamed.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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