George Mason born in Virginia in 1725.
His father died when Mason was just ten years old, but his mother, Ann Thompson Mason, continued to run the family estates with efficiency and profitably.
Mason was largely self-educated. He read widely in the library of his uncle, becoming a self-taught lawyer.
In 1774, Mason wrote the influential Fairfax Resolves, which were intended, according to his friend, George Washington, to [QUOTE] "defend our Constitutional Rights" and to set forth our fundamental principles.
Mason was the author, in 1776, of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which had a major influence on the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
He was a delegate from Virginia to the Philadelphia Convention but refused to sign the Constitution because it contained no bill of rights.
He argued against ratification for the same reason.
