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George Mason Research Paper

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George Mason
George Mason was born on December 11, 1725 to Ann Thompson and George Mason. Mason grew up on a farm in Fairfax County,Virginia where he was neighbors with George Washington. Living near George Washington influenced Mason to have a keen interest in local affairs at an early age.When he was 10, Mason’s father died in a boating accident. He was then raised by his mother and his uncle, John Mercer. He ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses when he was 23, but lost the election. In 1750, George married 16-year-old Ann Eilbeck (“George, Mason”). Being the persistent person that he was, Mason ran for a seat in the House of Burgesses again in 1759, this time his efforts were successful. In 1773, Ann died while giving …show more content…

He wanted explicit states rights and individual rights included in the constitution to balance out the federal powers that had increased. In 1776, George wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. These rights stated that all men are created equal, all power should be vested in the people, and that no man should be entitled to exclusive privileges. Mason also wanted the executive and legislative powers to be separate from the judiciary. Mason was remarried to Sarah Brent in 1780 after knowing her for some time as a family friend. Mason was an active speaker at the Constitutional Convention in 1787; though, he refused to sign the final draft of the Constitution. His reasoning was that the document failed to mention a declaration of rights. Even still, Mason played a role in creating the Constitution (“Constitution …show more content…

For example, recently disputes about gay marriage have caused an uproar. Many people have protested their opinions concerning the matter, which is legal. The Bill of Rights gave people the right to protest peacefully and speak freely. However, some people protested violently and were punished accordingly. Also, if any authority figure labels you a suspect and tries to search your home without a warrant, your rights are protected. The authority figure would have to return with a valid warrant before being able to search or seize any item(s) belonging to you. These are just two examples of how the Bill of Rights protects the American people in today’s

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