| Revision as of 03:43, 10 May 2003 editDwheeler (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,916 edits Added an article about the "Father of the Bill of Rights" | Revision as of 03:46, 10 May 2003 edit undoDwheeler (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,916 editsm FormattingNext edit → | ||
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| He is nicknamed the "Father of the Bill of Rights". | He is nicknamed the "Father of the Bill of Rights". | ||
| Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which specified specific | Mason wrote the ] Declaration of Rights, which specified specific | ||
| rights of citizens. He was the leader of those who pressed for the | rights of citizens. He was the leader of those who pressed for the | ||
| addition of a Bill of Rights into the ]. | addition of a Bill of Rights into the ]. | ||
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| Mason continued to agitate for the addition of a bill of rights to the | Mason continued to agitate for the addition of a bill of rights to the | ||
| Constitution. | Constitution. | ||
| On December 15, 1791, the U.S. Bill Rights, based primarily on | On December 15, 1791, the U.S. Bill Rights, based primarily on | ||
| George Mason's Declaration of Rights, was ratified. | George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, was ratified. | ||
| Mason died at his home, Gunston Hall, on October 7, 1792. | |||
| George Mason's home, Gunston Hall in Mason Neck, Virginia, is now | George Mason's home, Gunston Hall in Mason Neck, Virginia, is now | ||
Revision as of 03:46, 10 May 2003
George Mason (1725-1792) was a United States patriot, statesman, and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. He is nicknamed the "Father of the Bill of Rights".
Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which specified specific rights of citizens. He was the leader of those who pressed for the addition of a Bill of Rights into the U.S. Constitution. His efforts eventually succeeded in convincing the Federalists (such as James Madison) to add such a bill of rights, which are the first ten amendments of the Constitution), and the bill of rights is based on Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights. The French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man was also based on George Mason's work.
George Mason was born on December 11, 1725, at the Mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. His father died in 1735 in a boating accident. On April 4, 1750, he married Ann Eilbeck from a plantation in Charles County, Maryland. They lived in a house on George's property in Dogue's Neck, Virginia. Mason completed construction of Gunston Hall (a plantation house on the Potomac River) in 1759. Unfortunately, on March 9, 1773, his wife died.
Mason served in Virginia Convention in Williamsburg in 1776. During this time he created drafts of the first declaration of rights and state constitution in the Colonies. Both were adopted after committee alterations; the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted June 12, 1776, and the Virginia Constitution was adopted June 29, 1776.
Mason was appointed in 1786 to represent Virginia as a delegate to a Federal Convention, to meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. He served at the Federal Convention in Philadelphia from May to October 1787 and contributed significantly to the formation of the Constitution. However, he would not sign the Constitution for a number of reasons; the very first of his objections was that the original Constitution failed to contain a "declaration of rights". Mason continued to agitate for the addition of a bill of rights to the Constitution. On December 15, 1791, the U.S. Bill Rights, based primarily on George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights, was ratified.
Mason died at his home, Gunston Hall, on October 7, 1792.
George Mason's home, Gunston Hall in Mason Neck, Virginia, is now a tourist attraction.