George Mason: Forgotten Founder, He Conceived the Bill of Rights

This wise Virginian was a friend to four future presidents, yet he refused to sign the Constitution

  • By Stephan A. Schwartz
  • Smithsonian magazine, May 2000, Subscribe
 

The air was cool and fresh on that Monday morning in September 1787 as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered at the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia to sign the new Constitution. Only three present refused to add their names. One of them was the Virginian George Mason. 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 the document he had played so large a role in crafting.

In 1776, Mason, then 51, had been appointed to a committee charged with drafting a "Declaration of Rights" for Virginia. From the writings of English Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), Mason had come to a then-radical insight: that a republic had to begin with the formal, legally binding commitment that individuals had inalienable rights that were superior to any government.

One other committee member did play a significant role: Mason's young friend James Madison, who kept his (and Mason's) friend Thomas Jefferson apprised of Mason's progress in drafting the declaration. Mason's work began, "That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights...namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." Jefferson's U.S. Declaration of Independence included the immortal words of what may be the most famous political statement in history: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In 1787, toward the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Mason proposed that a bill of rights preface the Constitution, but his proposal was defeated. When he refused to sign the new Constitution, his decision baffled some and alienated others, including his old friend, George Washington. Mason's stand nonetheless had its effect. At the first session of the first Congress, Madison introduced a Bill of Rights that paralleled Mason's Declaration of Rights of 1776.


The air was cool and fresh on that Monday morning in September 1787 as the delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered at the State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia to sign the new Constitution. Only three present refused to add their names. One of them was the Virginian George Mason. 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 the document he had played so large a role in crafting.

In 1776, Mason, then 51, had been appointed to a committee charged with drafting a "Declaration of Rights" for Virginia. From the writings of English Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), Mason had come to a then-radical insight: that a republic had to begin with the formal, legally binding commitment that individuals had inalienable rights that were superior to any government.

One other committee member did play a significant role: Mason's young friend James Madison, who kept his (and Mason's) friend Thomas Jefferson apprised of Mason's progress in drafting the declaration. Mason's work began, "That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights...namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety." Jefferson's U.S. Declaration of Independence included the immortal words of what may be the most famous political statement in history: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In 1787, toward the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Mason proposed that a bill of rights preface the Constitution, but his proposal was defeated. When he refused to sign the new Constitution, his decision baffled some and alienated others, including his old friend, George Washington. Mason's stand nonetheless had its effect. At the first session of the first Congress, Madison introduced a Bill of Rights that paralleled Mason's Declaration of Rights of 1776.

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Comments (5)

i understand why he is important but i dont see any useful information in this.....

Posted by LLLLL on November 12,2012 | 06:11 PM

Its helpfull but i really needed to know was about his YOUNG LIFE AS IN TEEN YEARS. :( now i have to keep going through google for info for this research paper i have to do :(

Posted by Lili on May 21,2012 | 03:55 PM

This man was brilliant...he wrote the Virginia Bill of Rights... which was what the US Bill of Rights was developed from. George Mason was one of three who did not sign the Constitution... even though he responsible for a large part of what was in the Constitution. He refused to sign it until it contained a bill of rights... that protected individual rights and state rights. He strongly supported a Constitution that supported a smaller, less controling federal government. He authored many of the amendments to the Constitution. Including the 22nd amendment which insured that a President could only hold the office of President for two four year terms. It was rejected at the signing of the Constitution but when it was added many years after his death...they basically pulled out George Mason's writings and added it to the Constitution as the 22nd amendment. He was deeply admired by his contemporaries, Patirck Henry, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. I could add alot more, but it could turn into a book. So in brief this is why he was important.

Posted by Melody on April 4,2012 | 02:20 AM

Included in his most famous writing, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, is: declarations that all power was derived from the people, all men were created free and equal, a right to a fair trial by jury, protection against cruel and unusual punishments, baseless search and seizure, freedom of press, freedom of religion, the right of the people to maintain a regulated militia and many other such statements. It was the most notable document of its kind.
He also wrote several other highly influential papers and documents, the mark of which can be seen in the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Constitution, the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolution, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the 11th amendment. The above documents are among the most important in the history of America, and arguably, in the history of the world.

That's why George Mason was so important, and that's only a start of what he accomplished.

Also, like so many other Founders, Mason was a firm believer in Jesus Christ. Just read his final will and testament.

Posted by Hannah on March 23,2011 | 10:15 PM

WHY THE FUDGE IS THIS GUY IMPOTANT???? WHAT DID HE ACCOMPPLISH???

Posted by Dakotah on December 12,2010 | 05:31 PM



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