George Mason

For other people named George Mason, see George Mason (disambiguation).
George Mason
Born George Mason
December 11, 1725
Fairfax County, Colony of Virginia, British America
Died October 7, 1792 (aged 66)
Gunston Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S.
Cause of death
 natural causes
Residence Gunston Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation Patriot, statesman and delegate from Virginia to the U.S. Constitutional Convention
Religion Anglican, Episcopalian
Spouse(s) Ann Eilbeck
Sarah Brent
Children George Mason V
Ann Eilbeck Mason Johnson
William Mason
William Mason
Thomson Mason
Sarah Eilbeck Mason McCarty
Mary Thomson Mason Cooke
John Mason
Elizabeth Mason Thornton
Thomas Mason
James Mason
Richard Mason
Parent(s) George Mason III
Ann Stevens Thomson

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."[1][2][3][4] For these reasons he is considered one of the "Founding Fathers" of the United States.[5][6]

Like anti-federalist Patrick Henry, Mason was a leader of those who pressed for the addition of explicit States rights[7] 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.

On the issue of slavery, Mason walked a fine line. Although a slaveholder himself, he found slavery distasteful for a variety of reasons. He wanted to ban further importation of slaves from Africa and prevent slavery from spreading to more states. However, he did not want the new federal government to attempt to ban slavery where it already existed, because he anticipated that such an act would be difficult and controversial.

Early life

George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 to George and Ann Thomson Mason at the Mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. In 1735, when Mason was 10, his father drowned in the Potomac when the boat he was in capsized.[8]

After his father's death, Mason lived with his uncle John Mercer, who (along with his mother) became his legal guardian. Mercer was a leading Virginia attorney.[9] Mason studied in Mercer's private library, which consisted of between 1,500 and 1,800 volumes. Approximately one-third of these books regarded the law.[10][11] Mason studied with tutors and attended a private academy in Maryland.[12]

Politics

Virginia

Mason was a justice of the Fairfax County court. Between 1754 and 1779, he was a trustee of the city of Alexandria, Virginia. In 1759 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

Mason served at the Virginia Convention in Williamsburg in 1776. During this time he created drafts of the first declaration of rights and state constitution in the Colonies. Both were adopted after committee alterations; the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted June 12, 1776, and the Virginia Constitution was adopted June 29, 1776.

Article 1 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights — a statement later made internationally famous by the first paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence — states that:

"All men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."

Constitutional Convention and Ratification

Mason was appointed in 1786 to represent Virginia as a delegate to a Federal Convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. He served at the Federal Convention in Philadelphia from May to September 1787 and contributed significantly to the formation of the Constitution. Mason was one of the five most frequent speakers at the convention. Mason was a moderate among the delegates, finding himself on either side of the argument depending on the particular issue. He advocated for a strong executive with an extensive term without the ability to be re-elected.[13] In addition, he was a strong proponent of a bicameral legislature. He also argued for election of senators by individual state legislatures.[14] George Mason also became a strong advocate against slavery during the Constitutional Convention. He was one of the fiercest opponents of slavery.[15]

An important issue for him in the convention was a Bill of Rights. George Mason suggested on September 12 the addition of a Bill of Rights to the Constitution modeled on previous state declarations, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts made it a formal motion, but the motion was defeated.[16] However, on September 17, 1797, He refused to sign the Constitution and returned to his native state as an outspoken opponent in the ratification contest. [17] One objection to the proposed Constitution was that it lacked a "declaration of rights." Mason felt that a declaration of rights was a necessity in order to curb federal overreach.[18]

As a delegate to Virginia's ratification convention, he helped lead anti-federalist faction alongside Patrick Henry.[19] The anti-federalists in Virginia opposed ratification without amendment. Among the proposed amendments were amendments relating to the preservation of rights. Despite Mason's efforts against ratification, Virginia ratified the Constitution in 1788.[18]

On December 15, 1791, the United States Bill of Rights, which was based primarily on George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights,[20] was ratified in response to the agitation of Mason and others.

Letter from Mason to George Washington congratulating him on victory at Boston, April 1776

Slavery

George Mason was one of the largest slaveholders in Fairfax County (possibly second only to George Washington) and had thirty-six slaves at the time of his death. Like some of his contemporary slave owners (e.g. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington), Mason conceded that the institution was morally objectionable, once calling it a "slow Poison" that "is daily contaminating the Minds & Morals of our People."[21] Mason favored the abolition of the slave trade, but he did not advocate for the immediate abolition of slavery.Like Jefferson, in his last will, he named slaves whom he did not manumit.[22]

Two of Mason's stated reasons for opposing the U.S. Constitution were that the draft Constitution did not specifically protect the right of states to let slavery continue where it already existed, and that the draft Constitution did not allow Congress to immediately stop the importation of slaves.[21][23] Mason's immediate concern was to prevent more slaves from being imported, and to prevent slavery from spreading into more states.[24] He was not eager to ban slavery where it already existed: "It is far from being a desirable property. But it will involve us in great difficulties and infelicity to be now deprived of them."[24] Mason ostensibly balanced his anti-slavery argument that importation should stop, with a pro-slavery argument that the draft Constitution should protect slavery from being taxed out of existence; however, the latter argument had already been incorporated into the Constitution according to James Madison.[25]

Because of his efforts to stop the spread of slavery, and his recognition of the undesirability of slavery, some historians have said that Mason should be categorized as an abolitionist.[26]:294, note 39 Other historians have disagreed.[26]

Personal life

At the age of twenty four, George Mason married sixteen-year-old Ann Eilbeck, from a plantation in Charles County, Maryland, on April 4, 1750.[27] They lived in a house on his property in Dogue's Neck, Virginia, for the first few years. Mason's wife died on March 9, 1773.

George Mason remarried on April 11, 1780, and did not have any children with his new wife, Sarah Brent.

George Mason suffered from gout for a large part of his life, and in accordance with current medical treatment, relied upon bloodletting.

George Mason died of natural causes at his home, Gunston Hall, on October 7, 1792. He left a personal message for his sons in his will: "I recommend it to my sons, from my experience in life, to prefer the happiness and independence of a private station, to the troubles and vexation of public business" but added that if they should engage in public affairs, nothing should "deter them from asserting the liberty of their country, and endeavouring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which themselves were born."

Gunston Hall

Main article: Gunston Hall
Gunston Hall in May 2006, seen from the front

Mason completed construction in 1759 of Gunston Hall, a plantation house on the Potomac River. Gunston Hall is a Georgian mansion in Mason Neck, Virginia.[28][29] It was located at the center of a 5,500 acre (22 km²) plantation.[30] Gunston Hall was built from 1755 to 1759.[31][32] The home and grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now a museum owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia and open to the public.[33]

The interior of the house and its design was mostly the work of William Buckland, a carpenter/joiner and indentured servant from England. Both he and William Bernard Sears, another indentured servant, are believed to have created the ornate woodwork and interior carving. Gunston's interior design combines elements of rococo, chinoiserie, and Gothic styles, an unusual contrast to the tendency for simple decoration in Virginia at this time.[34] Although chinoiserie was popular in Britain, Gunston Hall is the only house known to have had this decoration in colonial America.[35] After Mason's death, the house continued to be used as a residence for many years.[36]

Children

Mason and his wife had twelve children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Mason's first child, George Mason V of Lexington,[37] was born on April 30, 1753. He married Elizabeth Mary Ann Barnes Hooe (Betsy) on April 22, 1784, and after having six children, died on December 5, 1796. The next Mason offspring was Ann Eilbeck Mason, fondly known as Nancy. Born on January 13, 1755, she married Rinaldo Johnson on February 4, 1789 and had three children before dying in 1814. The third child was named William Mason, but he did not live over a year and died in 1757. The fourth child, born on October 22, 1757, was also named William Mason, and he married Ann Stuart on July 11, 1793. They had five children together, and he died in 1818. The fifth child was a son they named Thomson Mason. He was born on March 4, 1759 and died on March 11, 1820. Thomson married Sarah McCarty Chichester of Newington in 1784; they had eight children.

George Mason's sixth child, christened Sarah Eilbeck Mason but fondly known as Sally, was born on December 11, 1760 and married in 1778. She had ten children with her husband Daniel McCarty, Jr. before dying on September 11, 1823. The seventh of the Mason children was another girl, Mary Thomson Mason. She was born on January 24, 1764, and married John Travers Cooke on November 18, 1784, with whom she had ten children before dying in 1806. John Mason was Mason's eighth child, being born on April 4, 1766. He married Anna Marie Murray on February 14, 1796, had ten children, and died on March 19, 1849. The ninth child was a daughter named Elizabeth Mason. She was born on April 19, 1768 and died sometime between 1792 and June 1797. She married William Thornton in 1789 and they had two children. The tenth child, Thomas Mason, was born on May 1, 1770 and died on September 18, 1800. He married Sarah Barnes Hooe on April 22, 1793 and the two had four children together.

George Mason's last two children were James and Richard Mason; twins who were born in December, 1772 but died six weeks later.

Remembrance

Bas-relief of George Mason in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives

Gunston Hall, located in Mason Neck, Virginia, is now a museum and tourist attraction. The George Mason Memorial in West Potomac Park, Washington, D.C., near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, was dedicated on April 9, 2002. The George Mason Memorial Bridge, one of five that make up the 14th Street Bridge, connects Washington, D.C., to Virginia. George Mason Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, George Mason High School in Falls Church, and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, are named in his honor, as are Mason County, Kentucky, Mason County, West Virginia and Mason County, Illinois.

Mason was honored by the United States Postal Service with an 18¢ Great Americans series postage stamp. A bas-relief of Mason appears in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives as one of 23 honoring great lawmakers; his image is located above and to the right of the Speaker's chair.[38] The Society of Professional Journalists, Virginia Pro Chapter, presents an annual award named for Mason to a person who has made significant, lasting contribution to the practice of journalism in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

His great-great grandson Dr. William Beverley Mason built Gunston Hall at Biltmore Forest, North Carolina in 1923.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The New United States of America Adopted the Bill of Rights: December 15, 1791". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  2. ↑ Heymsfeld, Carla R.; Lewis, Joan W. (1991). "George Mason, father of the Bill of Rights". Alexandria, Va.: Patriotic Education Inc. ISBN 0-912530-16-2.
  3. ↑ Spratt, Tammy. "Father" of Our Country vs. "Father" of the Bill of Rights". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  4. ↑ "Bill of Rights Day - December 15th". Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  5. ↑ Yardley, Jonathan (November 5, 2006). "A founding father insisted that the Constitution wasn't worth ratifying without a bill of rights". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  6. ↑ Henderson, Denise; Henderson, Frederic W. (March 15, 1993). "How The Founding Fathers Fought For An End To Slavery". The American Almanac. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  7. ↑ Gutzman, Kevin (2007). The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution. Washington: Regnery Publishing, Inc. pp. 35, 23. ISBN 1-59698-505-4.
  8. ↑ George Mason Writings and Biography Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. ↑ American Memory from the Library of Congress - Browse by
  10. ↑ Antiquarian Books :: ILAB-LILA :: International League of Antiquarian Booksellers
  11. ↑ "The Colonial Virginian"
  12. ↑ George Mason
  13. ↑ Madison, James. Notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Avalon Project. ( June 4, July 26).
  14. ↑ Madison, James. Notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Avalon Project. ( June 7, 21, 25).
  15. ↑ Madison, James. Notes on the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Avalon Project. ( July 11, 12).
  16. ↑ Beeman, Richard (2009). Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution. Random House. ( p. 341).
  17. ↑ Borden, Morton, ed. (1965). The Anti federalist Papers. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press. pp. ix.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Beeman, Richard (2009). Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution. Random House.
  19. ↑ Beeman, Richard (2009). Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution. Random House. ( p. 396).
  20. ↑ Virginia Declaration of Rights. Library of Congress. Accessed July 12, 2013.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "George Mason's Views on Slavery"
  22. ↑ The Papers of George Mason 147-160 (Robert A. Rutland ed. 1970).
  23. ↑ This issue is further discussed in Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers (Knopf, 2000).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Kaminski, John. Necessary Evil?: Slavery and the Debate Over the Constitution, pages 59 and 186 (Rowman & Littlefield 1995). Mason said: "The Western people are already calling out for slaves for their new lands; and will fill that country with slaves, if they can be got through South Carolina and Georgia....[T]he General Government should have the power to prevent the increase of slavery."
  25. ↑ See "Debate in Virginia Ratifying Convention", The Founders’ Constitution (transcript from 1788-06-15). Mason said, "There is no clause in this Constitution to secure it; for they may lay such a tax as will amount to manumission." Madison responded: "From the mode of representation and taxation, Congress cannot lay such a tax on slaves as will amount to manumission....The census in the Constitution was intended to introduce equality in the burdens to be laid on the community."
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Broadwater, Jeff (2006). George Mason: Forgotten Founder. Chapel Hill, NC: Fred W. Morrison Fund for Southern Studies of the University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-3053-6.
  27. ↑ Rowland, Kate Mason (1892). The Life of George Mason, 1725–1792. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-548-13895-8.
  28. ↑ "House and Grounds". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  29. ↑ "Visiting Gunston Hall". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  30. ↑ "Gunston Hall Museum Shop". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  31. ↑ Beckerdite, Luke et al. (1994). "Architect-Designed Furniture in Eighteenth-Century Virginia: The Work of William Buckland and William Bernard Sears". American Furniture 1994. Chipstone. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  32. ↑ "George Mason Chronology". Gunston Hall Plantation official website. 1997. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  33. ↑ "Gunston Hall Plantation official website". Retrieved 2006-08-23. Also hosted on look.net.
  34. ↑ "Architecturally Speaking". House Tour. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
  35. ↑ "Parlor". House Tour. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
  36. ↑ "Gunston Hall's Archeology Program". House and Grounds. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. p. 2. Archived from the original on 2006-07-14. Retrieved 2006-08-31.
  37. ↑ "Hollin Hall". George Mason's Plantations and Landholdings. Gunston Hall Plantation official website. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-02-29. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  38. ↑ "Relief Portraits of Lawgivers". Architect of the Capitol, Government of the United States of America. Accessed June 17, 2011.
  39. ↑ Davyd Foard Hood (May 1991). "Gunston Hall" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.

Bibliography

External links

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