George Mason & Slavery
Through wills, letters, and archaeology, we’ve uncovered glimpses into the lives of the over 300 people enslaved by George Mason—individuals like James, his valet, and Nell, a midwife—though much of their story remains incomplete as we continue the search for answers.
George Mason’s Pursuit of Religious Liberty in Revolutionary Virginia
by Daniel Driesbach The contributions of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to religious liberty in Virginia and the new nation are exhaustively chronicled and rightly celebrated. George Mason (1725-1792), by […]
George Mason and the American Revolution
When tensions between Great Britain and the American colonies first began, George Mason was devoting his time to the operations of his plantation and to his land ventures with the […]
Mason and the Constitution
Objections to the Constitution In 1787, George Mason attended what we now call Constitutional Convention, a gathering of representatives from different states charged with revising the Articles of Confederation, the […]
The Virginia Declaration of Rights – Ratified Version
[Final Draft, 12 June 1776] A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS made by the Representatives of the good people of VIRGINIA, assembled in full and free Convention; which rights do pertain to […]
The Virginia Declaration of Rights – Committee Draft
Committee Draft, 27 May 1776 [Angle brackets < > in the text reflect the substantive changes from George Mason’s first draft] A DECLARATION of RIGHTS made by the representatives of […]
The Virginia Declaration of Rights – First Draft
The Virginia Convention met in Williamsburg on May 6, 1776, and by May 15th had passed a resolution calling for the Virginia delegates at the Continental Congress to move for […]
Virginia Declaration of Rights
In 1776, many American colonies were frustrated by Great Britain’s tyrannical rule. In response, colonies replaced legislatures approved by the British government with extralegal governing bodies. One of the most […]
Take a Closer Look at Sarah Brent Mason
Who is Sarah Brent? Much like for George Mason’s first wife Ann, or for Mason’s daughters or daughters-in-law, the information on Sarah is sketchy, gleaned from various public records and […]