[George] Mason’s obvious legacy is in his contribution to America’s founding documents: the Declaration of Independence through the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Constitution through his role at the Philadelphia Convention, and the Bill of Rights through his dogged opposition to a Constitution without one. Mason may have taken a circumscribed view of the rights he advocated — limiting the right of representation to white men or restricting freedom of the press to a ban on prior restraint — but he put words on paper that could be given more expansive meanings by later generations.
Place | City | |
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American Independence Museum | Exeter | The museum focuses on the Revolution, colonial life, the Ladd, Gilman, and Folsom families. |
Fort Constitution | New Castle | Originally named Fort William and Mary, colonists captured it 14 December 1774 in one of the first overt acts against England. |
Fort Stark Historic Site | New Castle | Overlooking the Piscataqua River, Little Harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean, Fort Stark was named in honor of General John Stark, commander of New Hampshire forces at the Battle of Bennington (1777). |
Governor John Langdon House | New Castle | Built in 1783 for Major John Langdon — merchant, shipbuilder, representative to Continental Congress, and Governor of New Hampshire. |
Moffatt-Ladd House and Garden | Portsmouth | Georgian Mansion built 1760-63 by merchant John Moffatt; General William Whipple lived there during the war with his wife Katherine Moffatt Whipple. |
Strawbery Banke Museum | Portsmouth | Living history museum dedicated to recreating colonial and early American life. |
Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion | Portsmouth | Built 1720—60, home of New Hampshire's first royal governor, Benning Wentworth. |
George Mason: Forgotten Founder (2006)