Early Life
George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 in Virginia, which was then one of England's colonies. His father was a prominent planter who owned slaves. George did not have much schooling, but he read many books as a boy. When his father died, he inherited a large amount of land.
As he grew older, he studied law and took care of his plantation and was a neighbor to George Washington. He preferred private life and refused many public offices. But his writings and leadership had great influence and he became a leader in his community. In 1729 he helped to found the city of Alexandria, Virginia. In 1759, he was elected to Virginia's House of Burgesses, which was the colony's representative assembly.
Patriot and Statesman
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, Mason supported independence. In 1776 he helped to write the first constitution of the state of Virginia. Other states used that document as a model for their own constitutions. Mason also penned the state's Declaration of Rights, which declared that men are born free, with certain rights. Those rights are the enjoyment of life and liberty, the ability to own property, and the pursuit of happiness and safety. Thomas Jefferson stated a similar idea in the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776). Later, the Virginia Declaration helped to inspire the men who wrote the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791).
Mason was a member of the Constitutional Convention, which was the meeting that produced the U.S. Constitution in 1787. He and other attendees argued over the question of slavery. Even though Mason owned slaves, he said that the slave trade was “disgraceful to mankind.” He thought that it should not be allowed under the new constitution. He wanted emancipation and education for slaves. He was ahead of his time in opposing slavery and never agreed to allow the Constitution to continue it, and yet it did. His goal was a system of free labor in the United States.
Mason also supported strong state governments and a weak central government. He wanted a bill of rights to protect personal liberties against possible intrusion by the federal government. For those reasons, he refused to approve the U.S. Constitution.
After the Constitutional Convention, Mason lived quietly. He died on October 7, 1792, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Bibliography
"Mason, George." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
<http://school.eb.com/all/elementary/article?articleId=601263>.
George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 in Virginia, which was then one of England's colonies. His father was a prominent planter who owned slaves. George did not have much schooling, but he read many books as a boy. When his father died, he inherited a large amount of land.
As he grew older, he studied law and took care of his plantation and was a neighbor to George Washington. He preferred private life and refused many public offices. But his writings and leadership had great influence and he became a leader in his community. In 1729 he helped to found the city of Alexandria, Virginia. In 1759, he was elected to Virginia's House of Burgesses, which was the colony's representative assembly.
Patriot and Statesman
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, Mason supported independence. In 1776 he helped to write the first constitution of the state of Virginia. Other states used that document as a model for their own constitutions. Mason also penned the state's Declaration of Rights, which declared that men are born free, with certain rights. Those rights are the enjoyment of life and liberty, the ability to own property, and the pursuit of happiness and safety. Thomas Jefferson stated a similar idea in the U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776). Later, the Virginia Declaration helped to inspire the men who wrote the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791).
Mason was a member of the Constitutional Convention, which was the meeting that produced the U.S. Constitution in 1787. He and other attendees argued over the question of slavery. Even though Mason owned slaves, he said that the slave trade was “disgraceful to mankind.” He thought that it should not be allowed under the new constitution. He wanted emancipation and education for slaves. He was ahead of his time in opposing slavery and never agreed to allow the Constitution to continue it, and yet it did. His goal was a system of free labor in the United States.
Mason also supported strong state governments and a weak central government. He wanted a bill of rights to protect personal liberties against possible intrusion by the federal government. For those reasons, he refused to approve the U.S. Constitution.
After the Constitutional Convention, Mason lived quietly. He died on October 7, 1792, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Bibliography
"Mason, George." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
<http://school.eb.com/all/elementary/article?articleId=601263>.