George Mason was a prominent American patriot, born (1725) and died (October 7, 1792) in Fairfax County,
Virginia. He was a statesman who insisted on the protection of individual liberties in the composition of both the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions (1776, 1787). And he was ahead of his time in opposing slavery and in rejecting the constitutional compromise that perpetuated it.

As a landowner and near neighbor of George Washington, Mason took a leading part in local affairs. He also became deeply interested in Western expansion and was active in the Ohio Company, organized in 1749 to
develop, trade, and sell land on the upper Ohio River. At about the same time, Mason helped to found the town of Alexandria, Virginia. Because of ill health and family problems, he generally eschewed public office, though he accepted election to the House of Burgesses (the Virginia legislature) in 1759. Except for his membership in the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, this was the highest office he ever held -- yet few men did more to shape U.S. political institutions.

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. Mason's work was known to Thomas Jefferson and influenced his drafting of the Declaration of Independence. The model was soon followed by most of the states and was also incorporated in diluted form in the federal constitution. He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1776 to 1788.

As a member of the Constitutional Convention, Mason strenuously opposed the compromise permitting the
continuation of the slave trade until 1808. Although he was a Southerner, Mason castigated the trade as"disgraceful to mankind"; he favored manumission and education for bondsmen and supported a system of free
labor. Because he also objected to the large and indefinite powers vested in the new government, he joined several other Virginians in opposing adoption of the new document. A Jeffersonian Republican, he believed that local government should be kept strong and central government weak. His criticism helped bring about the adoption of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution.

Soon after the Convention, Mason retired to his home, Gunston Hall, always a favorite and satisfying retreat in the midst of a large and affectionate family.

Illustration: courtesy of Gunston Hall
Print Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2.6.97); Special Collections & Archives, GMU.