born 1725, Fairfax county, Va.
died Oct. 7, 1792, Fairfax county, Va., U.S.
American Revolutionary statesman.
The owner of a large plantation, he became active in efforts to promote the westward expansion of the colonies. In 1774 he helped his neighbour Virginia Declaration of Rights , which influenced Thomas Jefferson and was used as a model by other states. A member of the Virginia House of Delegates (1776–88), he attended the {{link=Constitutional Convention">Constitutional Convention but did not sign the Constitution of the United States , which he believed granted large and indefinite powers to the central government.
George Mason, detail of an oil painting by L. Guillaume after a portrait by J. Hesselius; in the ...
By courtesy of the Virginia Historical Society