Why George Mason Matters

 By Daniel L. Dreisbach - Posted at OLL (Online Library of Liberty):

There is an unfortunate tendency among students of the American founding to focus on the accomplishments of a few “famous founders” while ignoring the salient contributions of an expansive fraternity of “forgotten founders.” One almost forgotten figure is George Mason (1725-1792) of Virginia.

Despite an aversion to public life, Mason played pivotal roles in important assemblies of his state and nation, including the Virginia Conventions in 1775 and 1776, the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and the Virginia ratifying convention in June 1788.

He was one of the most voluble delegates at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, leaving his mark on the U.S. Constitution. In the end, however, he refused to sign the final document. Chief among his objections was its lack of a bill of rights – a criticism that so resonated with skeptics of the proposed Constitution that its proponents were compelled to add the national Bill of Rights to assuage this concern.

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