The Founding Fathers
In
1725 George Mason was born to George and Ann Thomson Mason. When the
boy was 10 years old his father died, and young George's upbringing
was left in the care of his uncle, John Mercer. The future jurist's
education was profoundly shaped by the contents of his uncle's
1500-volume library, one-third of which concerned the law.
Mason established himself as an important
figure in his community. As owner of Gunston Hall he was one of the
richest planters in Virginia. In 1750 he married Anne Eilbeck, and in
23 years of marriage they had five sons and four daughters. In 1752 he
acquired an interest in the Ohio Company, an organization that
speculated in western lands. When the crown revoked the company's
rights in 1773, Mason, the company's treasurer, wrote his first major
state paper, Extracts from the Virginia Charters, with Some Remarks
upon Them.
During these years Mason also pursued his
political interests. He was a justice of the Fairfax County court, and
between 1754 and 1779 Mason was a trustee of the city of Alexandria.
In 1759 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. When the Stamp
Act of 1765 aroused outrage in the colonies, George Mason wrote an
open letter explaining the colonists' position to a committee of
London merchants to enlist their support.
In 1774 Mason again was in the forefront of
political events when he assisted in drawing up the Fairfax Resolves,
a document that outlined the colonists' constitutional grounds for
their objections to the Boston Port Act.
Virginia's Declaration of Rights, framed by Mason in 1776, was widely
copied in other colonies, served as a model for Jefferson in the first
part of the Declaration of
Independence, and was the basis for the federal Constitution's Bill
of Rights.
The years between 1776 and 1780 were filled
with great legislative activity. The establishment of a government
independent of Great Britain required the abilities of persons such as
George Mason. He supported the disestablishment of the church and was
active in the organization of military affairs, especially in the
West. The influence of his early work, Extracts from the Virginia
Charters, is seen in the 1783 peace treaty with Great Britain, which
fixed the Anglo-American boundary at the Great Lakes instead of the
Ohio River. After independence, Mason drew up the plan for Virginia's
cession of its western lands to the United States.
By the early 1780s, however, Mason grew
disgusted with the conduct of public affairs and retired. He married
his second wife, Sarah Brent, in 1780. In 1785 he attended the Mount
Vernon meeting that was a prelude to the Annapolis
Convention of 1786, but, though appointed, he did not go to
Annapolis.
At Philadelphia in 1787 Mason was one of the
five most frequent speakers at the Constitutional
Convention. He exerted great influence, but during the last 2
weeks of the convention he decided not to sign the document.
Mason's refusal prompts some surprise,
especially since his name is so closely linked with constitutionalism.
He explained his reasons at length, citing the absence of a
declaration of rights as his primary concern. He then discussed the
provisions of the Constitution
point by point, beginning with the House of Representatives. The House
he criticized as not truly representative of the nation, the Senate as
too powerful. He also claimed that the power of the federal judiciary
would destroy the state judiciaries, render justice unattainable, and
enable the rich to oppress and ruin the poor. These fears led Mason to
conclude that the new government was destined to either become a
monarchy or fall into the hands of a corrupt, oppressive aristocracy.
Two of Mason's greatest concerns were
incorporated into the Constitution. The Bill of Rights answered his
primary objection, and the 11th amendment addressed his call for
strictures on the judiciary.
Throughout his career Mason was guided by his
belief in the rule of reason and in the centrality of the natural
rights of man. He approached problems coolly, rationally, and
impersonally. In recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to
the principles of the Age of Reason, Mason has been called the
American manifestation of the Enlightenment. Mason died on October 7,
1792, and was buried on the grounds of Gunston Hall.
Image: Courtesy
of National Archives, Records of Exposition, Anniversary, and Memorial
Commissions
