National Treasure, The Freemasons, Mt. Rushmore, and The Statue of Liberty

A recent post in this blog reviewed an article in the most recent issue of "Scottish Rite Journal" by Richard Fletcher that revealed further Masonic links to National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I recently communicated with Brother Fletcher via e-mail and he pointed out that Mount Rushmore, the setting for the final scenes of the movie, has even more Masonic connections. As discussed here, two of the presidents on Mount Rushmore are Masons, Washington and Roosevelt. But, that's not all. Brother Fletcher says:

"The concluding scenes of the movie take place at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The movie makes no reference to the sculptor but both Gutzon Borglum, who was the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and his son Lincoln Borglum were Freemasons. Following the death of his father, Lincoln Borglum was assigned the task of completing the Mount Rushmore Memorial.

Gutzon Borglum was raised in Howard Lodge #35 in New York City and served as its Master in 1910-1911. Lincoln Borglum was raised in Battle River Lodge #92 Hermosa, South Dakota"

Another monument featured in the movie, the Statue of Liberty, also has Masonic ties. The man given credit in the movie for conceiving the idea of the Statue of Liberty, Edouard Rene de Laboulaye was a Freemason, as was the actual sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. In the article from "The Scottish Rite Journal" Brother Fletcher points out:

"Edouard Rene de Laboulaye was a French jurist. He is considered as one who watched carefully the development of the United States and was an admirer of its Constitution. He is thought by some to have formulated the idea of presenting a statue representing liberty as a gift to the United States, a symbol for ideas surpressed by Napoleon III. Of course the sculptor, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, is the one who created the Statue of Liberty and helped present it to the United States at the location where it now stands on Liberty Island in New York harbor. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was also a Freemason and a member of Lodge Alsac-Lorraine in Paris."

For even more on Masonic ties to the Statue of Liberty and National Treasure, see this great article at freemsasonsfordummies.blogspot.com.

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