George Mason's Place In May 1787: The Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention took place in May 1787. Delegates from all of the states except for Rhode Island met in the Philadelphia State House in the exact room that 11 years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed. There were 55 delegates and most of them were lawyers, merchants, or planters, making them rich and educated men. The Constitutional Convention occurred because many of America’s leaders had become unsatisfied at that time with the government structure by which the Articles of Confederation created. George Mason was chosen to be one of Virginia’s delegates because he had much experience with the government. He wrote the Bill of Rights of Virginia, making him an important figure in Virginia’s history, allowing him to be a delegate.
George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 and died on October 7, 1792. He was born on a plantation on the Potomac in
Mason “took over the administration of his self-sufficient plantation” (Welling). Because of this, he became one of the richest planters in Virginia. He “was a leader of Virginia patriots and later drafted the state's constitution” (Bio.com). He was the author of the Virginia Bill of Rights and wrote a constitution, which was his most important contribution to the new state government in the May and June of 1776. He took part in the Lower House of Virginia between 1776-1780 and 1786-1787, and he participated in the Virginia State Constitutional Convention in 1776. He also took part in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 as one of Virginia’s seven delegates including George Washington. After the Convention, he and Patrick Henry led the Anti Federalist contingent as the Virginia ratification began in June 1788. Virginia did ratify the Constitution by an 89-79 vote, so Mason finally retired to Gunston Hall, which was the home he