George Mason IV
| George Mason | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
December 11, 1725 likely present-day Fairfax County, Colony of Virginia, British America |
| Died | October 7, 1792 (aged 66) Gunston Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia, United States |
| Resting place | Mason Family Cemetery, Lorton, Virginia 38°40′07″N 77°10′06″W / 38.66862°N 77.16823°WCoordinates: 38°40′07″N 77°10′06″W / 38.66862°N 77.16823°W |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Plantation owner |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Eilbeck Sarah Brent |
| Children |
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| Parent(s) |
George Mason III Ann Stevens Thomson |
| Signature | |
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George Mason (sometimes referred to as George Mason IV; December 11, 1725 [O.S. November 30, 1725] – October 7, 1792) was a Virginia planter and politician, and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three delegates who refused to sign the constitution. His writings have been a significant influence on political thought and events, including substantial portions of the Fairfax Resolves of 1774, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776, and his Objections to this Constitution of Government (1787) in opposition to ratification of the constitution. The Virginia Declaration of Rights, which Mason principally authored, served as a basis for the United States Bill of Rights, of which he has been deemed the father.
Mason was born in 1725, most likely in what is now Fairfax County, Virginia. His father died when he was young, and his mother managed the family estates until he came of age. He married in 1750, built Gunston Hall, and lived the life of a country squire, supervising his lands, family, and slaves. He briefly served in the House of Burgesses and involved himself in community affairs, sometimes serving with his neighbor George Washington. As tensions grew between Britain and the American colonies, Mason came to support the colonial side, and used his knowledge and experience to help the revolutionary cause, finding ways to work around the Stamp Act of 1765 and serving in the pro-independence Fourth Virginia Convention of 1775 and the Fifth Virginia Convention of 1776.
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