
1930, New Deal Funding
Senator Norbeck of South Dakota remains Gutzon Borglum's greatest advocate and lobbyist in Washington, making arrangements for Borglum to meet with Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury, to convince him of the project's importance. Mellon is swayed and offers funding for the full amount, but for some reason Gutzon decides to only ask for half, an act which perplexes Norbeck. As a result, the Treasury pays out $250,000 in matched grants to fund the project.
In the next few years Senator Norbeck also managed to secure money for the project through the monies available as part of FDR's New Deal. (U.S. National Park Service).