George Mason IV
A Founding Father of the United States
Father of the United States Bill of Rights
Virginia Declaration of Rights Author
Father of the United States Bill of Rights
Virginia Declaration of Rights Author
On 'We The People'
Biography
George Mason IV (December 11, 1725 – October 7, 1792) was an American Patriot, statesman and a delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention. Along with James Madison, he is called the "Father of the United States Bill of Rights." For these reasons he is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States.
Like anti-federalist Patrick Henry, Mason was a leader of those who pressed for the addition of explicit States rights and individual rights to the U.S. Constitution as a balance to the increased federal powers, and did not sign the document in part because it lacked such a statement. His efforts eventually succeeded in convincing the Federalists to add the first ten amendments of the Constitution. These amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were based on the earlier Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason had drafted in 1776. » Full Bio
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This Day In History 237 Years Ago
June 12, 1776
Virginia Adopts George Mason's Declaration Of Rights
Virginia Adopts George Mason's Declaration Of Rights
The American Revolutionary War
The assembled slaveholders of Virginia promised to "the good people of VIRGINIA and their posterity" the equal right to life, liberty and property, with the critical condition that the "people" were white men. These same white men were guaranteed that "all power" would be "vested in, and consequently derived from" them. Should a government fail to represent their common interest, a majority of the same held the right to "reform, alter or abolish" the government.
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