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- A leader of the Virginia patriots on the eve of the American Revolution (1775–83), Mason served on the Committee of Safety and in 1776 drafted the state constitution, his declaration of rights being the first authoritative formulation of the doctrine of inalienable rights.
www.britannica.com › biography › George-MasonGeorge Mason | Founding Father, Virginia Statesman | Britannica
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Apr 30, 2000 · Because the Constitution created a federal government he felt might be too powerful, and because it did not end the slave trade and did not contain a bill of rights, he withheld his support from...
- Fights in French and Indian War
- Joins with Colonial Groups to Protest Taxation
- Suffers Personal Tragedy, Begins Political Writing
- Serves at Virginia Convention
- Writes Virginia's Bill of Rights and Constitution
- Writes Virginia Constitution, Helps Form Federal Government
- Retires from Public Life, Then Returns to It
- Suggests Changes to Proposed U.S. Constitution
- Proposes Bill of Rights, Refuses to Sign Constitution
- Opposes Virginia's Adoption of The U.S. Constitution
In 1752 Mason and fellow Virginian, George Washington see entry, became part owners of a business called the Ohio Company, which bought and sold land for profit in the Great Lakesregion. Through this venture, both Virginia aristocrats became familiar with what was then the American frontier, and they soon got caught up in a frontier war. In the mid...
During this time, Mason began to take an interest in public life. Between 1754 and 1779 he served on the board of directors of the city of Alexandria, Virginia, and was a justice of the Fairfax County Court. In 1758 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, the representative assembly of colonial Virginia, where he served with George Washi...
Between 1767 and 1773, Mason concentrated on running his plantation and raising his family. His wife, Anne, fell ill in 1772 and died a year later at age thirty-nine. That same year Mason wrote his first important public paper, "Extracts from Virginia Charters, with Some Remarks upon Them." The paper examined the legal rights of the Ohio Company an...
By 1774 American colonists were becoming openly rebellious against Great Britain. Mason took on an important role in national politics when he helped patriot Patrick Henry see entrydraft the "Fairfax Resolves." These papers stated the legal position of the American colonies in relation to Great Britain, pointing out how British taxation policies we...
Even before July 1776, when America declared its independence from England and the thirteen colonies officially became states, Virginia had already begun the hard work of forming a new government. In April 1776 Mason was elected to the Virginia Constitutional Convention to help write the constitution for his home state. He spent the spring studying...
James Madison see entry, later a U.S. President, called George Mason the "master builder" of Virginia's 1776 constitution. During the six-week period in which he wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Mason also wrote the first constitution of the independent Commonwealth of Virginia. It passed with no opposition on June 29, 1776. About this eve...
The Revolution officially ended in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. By that time, Mason believed the new American government was on firm footing and decided to retire from public life. With his second wife, Sarah Brent, whom he had married three years earlier, he went to live quietly at Gunston Hall. When people tried to get him involv...
In 1787 Mason was one of Virginia's representatives at the Federal Constitutional Convention. He became one of the major speakers, forcefully presenting his point of view. The delegates to the convention had many different views about how a government should be organized. Mason believed that all men—both rich and poor—are born with certain natural ...
In order to protect individual rights, Mason proposed that a bill of rights be added to the Constitution, and he was highly disappointed when his proposal was defeated. His proposal that a second convention be held was also voted down. In the end, Mason refused to sign the U.S. Constitution adopted by the Convention. According to the notes of James...
When the Federal Constitutional Convention completed its work, conventions were held in each state to decide whether or not to adopt the U.S. Constitution. At the Virginia convention, held in June 1788, James Madison supported it. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson also added their support in writing, although they were not able to attend the c...
George Mason (December 11, 1725 [O.S. November 30, 1725] – October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution.
- Landowner
- Roger West
- Charles Simms
Dec 22, 2021 · SUMMARY. George Mason was a wealthy planter and an influential lawmaker who served as a member of the Fairfax County Court (1747–1752; 1764–1789), the Truro Parish vestry (1749–1785), the House of Burgesses (1758–1761), and the House of Delegates (1776–1780). In 1769, he helped organize a nonimportation movement to protest British ...
George Mason, in fact, wrote several proposals for the extermination of the institution, but his ideas followed his specific belief in the rights of life, liberty, and property. Mason favored manumission, but not before slaves were educated so that the freedmen could maintain their liberty.
With the imposition of the taxes of the 1760s and 1770s by British Parliament, Mason became more involved in the Patriot cause. By 1775, he assisted with the recruitment and drilling of militia. Probably Mason’s most important work came in 1776.
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