Virginia Declaration of Rights, page 4

Transcript, dated 1776, of the first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason (1725-1792) of Fairfax County, Virginia. A final draft of the declaration was incorporated into the state constitution of 1776 and retained in all subsequent state constitutions. It is the model for the first ten amendments to the federal Constitution and for other state constitutions. The identity of the transcriber of this copy is unknown.