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George Mason Facts & Worksheets

George Mason was an American statesman and was very involved in community affairs and politics because of the British Parliament's Colonial policies

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George Mason was an American statesman and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787 who refused to sign the Constitution due to the non-inclusion of the Bill of Rights, which he principally authored as the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Mason was very involved in community affairs and politics because of the British Parliament’s Colonial policies.

See the fact file below for more information on George Mason or alternatively, you can download our 28-page George Mason worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Family Background

  • George Mason was born in 1725 in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was the fourth George Mason who used the name in the family.  His ancestor, George Mason I, a former Cavalier, emigrated to the colonies in the 1640s and 1650s and settled in Stafford County, Virginia. 
  • His father, George Mason III, served in the House of Burgesses and as a country lieutenant. His mother, Ann Thomson Mason, came from the Yorkshire family in London and was the daughter of a former Attorney General of Virginia. 

Early Life

  • The fourth George Mason was only 10 years old when his father died as his boat capsized while crossing the Potomac. His mother managed the family estates and raised him and his two siblings with his uncle, John Mercer, a Virginia lawyer. The lawyer reportedly had a 1,500-volume library, which became instrumental in his knowledge of politics. 
  • His mother chose their property in Chopawamsic Creek as her dower house, which became his and his siblings’ home while growing up. 
  • When he turned 21, he inherited his father’s enormous estate. This included thousands of acres of farmland in Virginia and Maryland, uncleared land in the western country, and his father’s slaves, which were said to be about 300. 
  • A certain Mr. Williams handled George Mason’s early education, but his uncle’s library had become his primary source of knowledge. 
  • At 23, he ran in an election for a seat in the House of Burgesses but was unsuccessful. He eventually won the coveted seat in 1758. 
  • In 1750, he married an artist Ann Eilbeck, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Charles County. They had nine children who survived to adulthood. He built Gunston Hall for his family in 1755, which became one of the finest homes in colonial America. Ann Eilbeck died in 1773.
  • Mason was a proud owner and squire of his land. He devoted his time to the operation of his plantation and his land ventures. As a landowner, George Mason was very involved in community affairs with his neighbor George Washington.

The Virginia Resolves

  • Great Britain decided to pass a series of acts to collect revenues from the colonists after the Seven Years’ War had proved to be very costly. According to them, colonists should contribute to their defense. They created the Revenue Act or Sugar Act and Currency Act in 1764. A year later, they passed the Stamp Act and the Quartering Act. The colonists declared these acts unjust and infringed their rights to assess their taxes. In 1764, the Virginia General Assembly announced that only the House of Burgesses had the right to tax the Virginians. 
  • In 1769, the two Georges teamed up when both were members of the Virginia House of Burgesses. They drafted a document known as Virginia Resolves to protest the British tax policies, devising a plan on how landlords could evade the Act by boycotting all stamped paper. This action became the beginning of Mason’s rebellious acts against British colonial policies. 

The Fairfax Resolves

  • In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act 1773 to help the financially troubled British East India Company. This Act gave the company the right to ship its tea to North America directly and the right to export duty-free tea from Britain. 
  • The Tea Act received an unfavorable response from the colonists, who showed their resistance by organizing the Boston Tea Party. They boarded the tea ships in the harbor and dumped their cargo overboard. 
  • In 1774, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, also called Intolerable Acts by the American colonists, to punish colonial resistance to British policies,  particularly those involved in the Boston Tea Party. It also restricted the colonists’ trade and increased British control. 
  • In response to the Coercive Acts, the colonists gathered at a meeting led by George Washington and adopted what became known as the Fairfax Resolves. The resolution, authored by Mason, suggested that a continent-wide congress should be organized to boycott the British imports.
  • It also exposed the plan of British authorities to make the colonists second-class citizens. According to him, the Parliament considered them a “conquered country.” Mason insisted that they were “descendants of the conquerors and not the conquered.” The document implied a threat of further actions by the colonists if Parliament pressed against Americans’ rights and independence. 
  • On April 9, 1775, the American Revolution officially began. Washington proceeded to take charge of the Continental Army. Mason was appointed to take Washington’s seat at the Second Continental Congress. However, Mason refused and led Virginia’s Committee of Safety, which became responsible for raising a militia for Virginia’s defense. It also carried on the functions of the government when Virginia’s royal governor departed for safer ground.
  • Mason and Washington had bonded for several years because of the proximity of their residence and their protest of British colonial policies. However, their alliance finally broke over their differences regarding the federal Constitution. Despite this,  Washington still regarded Mason highly because of his intellectual abilities and sought his advice.  

Declaration of Rights

  • In May 1776, the Continental Congress ordered each colony to draft a constitution appropriate for an independent state. Mason took charge of the committee, collaborating mainly with Thomas Ludwell Lee, creating the Virginia constitution and a bill of rights. 
  • Many considered the Virginia Constitution the first modern Bill of Rights. Mason’s words “all men are born equally free and independent” were adopted in state constitutions from Pennsylvania to Montana. 
  • Mason made the longest journey of his life to attend the federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787.
  • Mason participated enthusiastically. He convinced the convention to require a two-thirds majority to adopt laws regulating foreign commerce.
  • Mason also proposed the Great Compromise, or that the seats in the United States Congress be based on population. At the same time, each state would have equal representation in the Senate.
  • While enjoying his success in the Great Compromise, his colleagues’ refusal to end the foreign slave trade dismayed Mason. 
  • On September 12, Mason offered the Bill of Rights for the new Constitution, but the delegates unanimously voted to reject his offer. The convention adjourned on September 17. However, Mason refused to sign the Constitution. He drafted a document titled “Objections to the Constitution,” starting his complaint with “there is no Declaration of Rights.”
  • Mason resigned from the Fairfax County Court after an act was passed requiring the officeholders to take an oath to support the Constitution. He also refused a seat in the Senate, although it was mainly because of his declining health. 
  • In December 1791, a fellow Virginian, James Madison, introduced the Bill of Rights, derived from Mason’s Declaration of Rights, in the first session of the new Congress.

Later Life

  • Mason died a year later, on October 7, 1792, at Gunston Hall. He spent the last years of his life at his family home with his second wife Sarah Brent, whom he married in 1780. He remained a vocal critic of the new government and the policies of the Federalist Party.

George Mason Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about George Mason across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about George Mason who was an American statesman and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787 who refused to sign the Constitution due to the non-inclusion of the Bill of Rights.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • George Mason Facts
  • Mason’s Bio
  • The Fairfax Resolves
  • Mason’s Life
  • The Mason Family 
  • Life in Politics 
  • The British Colonial Policies 
  • Mason’s Accomplishments
  • Four Traits
  • The Two Georges 
  • The Boston Tea Party 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is George Mason and what did he do?

George Mason was an American statesman and a delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787 who refused to sign the Constitution due to the non-inclusion of the Bill of Rights, which he principally authored as the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Mason was very involved in community affairs and politics because of the British Parliament’s Colonial policies.

Why did George Mason oppose the Constitution?

In May 1776, the Continental Congress ordered each colony to draft a constitution appropriate for an independent state. Mason took charge of the committee, collaborating mainly with Thomas Ludwell Lee, creating the Virginia constitution and a bill of rights. Many considered the Virginia Constitution the first modern Bill of Rights. Mason’s words “all men are born equally free and independent” were adopted in state constitutions from Pennsylvania to Montana. While enjoying his success in the Great Compromise, his colleagues’ refusal to end the foreign slave trade dismayed Mason. On September 12, Mason offered the Bill of Rights for the new Constitution, but the delegates unanimously voted to reject his offer. The convention adjourned on September 17. However, Mason refused to sign the Constitution. He drafted a document titled “Objections to the Constitution,” starting his complaint with “there is no Declaration of Rights.”

Where was George Mason from?

George Mason was born in 1725 in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was the fourth George Mason who used the name in the family. His ancestor, George Mason I, a former Cavalier, emigrated to the colonies in the 1640s and 1650s and settled in Stafford County, Virginia. His father, George Mason III, served in the House of Burgesses and as a country lieutenant. His mother, Ann Thomson Mason, came from the Yorkshire family in London and was the daughter of a former Attorney General of Virginia.

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Use With Any Curriculum

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