George Mason: Architect of the US Constitution

George Mason had the most impact upon the creation and ideas contained within the United States constitution. He was appointed delegate in 1786 and served from May to September 1787; he was one of the most frequent speakers. Since the beginning George Mason was a strong supporter of bicameral legislature and wanted the election of United States senators by state legislatures. In July 1787, Mason proposed for a national executive having only one person who would be chosen for seven years by the national legislature without a second term. He argued that the House of Representatives was not truly representative of the people and that the United States senate had too much power. Also, he was against the powers of the federal judiciary arguing that

they would take by force the authority of the state governments. Masons proposition remained effective until late August when John Rutledge suggested the election of the president by a joint ballot. It was then decided that the House of Representatives would be given the choice alone so that the Senate would not have ultimate control over the president. George Mason persuaded the convention to expand its definition of reprehensible offenses in Article II, Section 4 to include “high crimes and misdemeanors”. This was a much broader and obscure standard for dismissing the president.
Mason of Virginia was one of the few delegates who wanted to end slavery as he found it disgraceful and diabolical. He was concerned over the amount of slaves being imported and wanted to bring that situation to a halt although he favored federal protection over existing slave property. He did not want to prohibit slavery where it was already present as he felt that would cause more problems. As well as this he wanted slavery to stop spreading to other states. Others were against this idea as they thought that federal intervention in slave trafficking would divide the northern and southern delegates. As a result so as to not destroy the Union, delegates from South Carolina and Georgia made what Mason called a “bargain” with delegates from New England states. If New Englanders continued to support slave importation for twenty years, the southerners would accept a clause that needed a simple majority vote on navigation laws. This compromise was accepted by both parties but it hurt southern economic interests. Although the opposing view of Mason and other delegates did not abolish slave importation immediately, their ideas did manage to make it illegal after twenty years calling this new law the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves.
George Mason also wanted to make a bill of rights to ensure liberty amongst individuals and not have all the power centralized to one authority.

He felt that the convention was rushing to have an ill-advised constitution for the country. In a letter written to his son he expressed his angst by writing that he "would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands." Mason proposed a new convention to reconsider not having a bill of rights. This motion was rejected by a majority of votes but anti federalists did not abandon this idea and continued to suggest it again and again for two years. Before the final vote of the Constitution on September 15, Edmund Randolph joined by George Mason and Elbridge Gerry suggested that amendments be made by the state conventions and considered in another general convention. This was also turned down by the rest of the delegates which added to Mason’s reasons for not signing the constitution. He had also not signed it because it did not protect the rights of states to have slavery where it already existed, it did not immediately stop the importation of slaves, and because there was no bill of rights. Earlier on Mason had served in the Virginia Convention in 1776 where he created drafts of the first declaration of rights. When his idea for a bill of rights was turned down he helped the anti-federalists opposing approval of the Constitution unless it included a Bill of Rights. Eventually Mason carried his point across on individual rights when the first ten amendments were approved in 1791 which were based on Mason’s 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights. This was due in part because James Madison proposed a bill of rights to the Congress on June 8, 1789. Mason’s master draft was not only based on Virginia Declaration of Rights but on Declarations of Rights of Pennsylvania and Maryland as well. George Mason had a great impact on the formation of the United States Constitution and the ideas contained

within. He provided ideas for a bicameral legislature, expressed his thoughts against slavery which led to the importation of slaves to become illegal, and was a main source of the addition of the bill of rights to the constitution. As a result of these achievements he became one of the most important delegates to the Constitutional Convention and one of the most eminent Founding Fathers.