In this document, enclosed in an October 7, 1787, letter to George Washington, George Mason explains his opposition to the U.S. Constitution due to the strength of the federal government and lack of a bill of rights. Mason was one of three delegates who did not sign the Constitution.
In this draft presented to the Fifth Virginia Convention in early June 1776, George Mason provides a plan of government for Virginia. After revisions, the convention adopted the state’s first constitution on June 29, 1776.
This transcript is of a copy, made in an unknown hand, of the first draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was written by George Mason. The final version of the declaration was incorporated into the state constitution of 1776 and was retained in all subsequent state constitutions. Some spelling has been modernized.
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