George Mason — Virginia Declaration of Rights, Principled Dissenter

**George Mason** was the founding generation's conscience — the man who wrote the template for the Bill of Rights, then refused to sign the Constitution because it didn't include one. Born in 1725 into one of Virginia's wealthiest planter families, Mason was largely self-educated (his father died when he was ten) but became one of the most widely read and intellectually rigorous men in the colonies. He was also one of the most reluctant public figures: he genuinely hated politics, detested travel, suffered from gout that made long sessions agonizing, and repeatedly tried to retire from public life. Yet when called upon, he produced some of the most consequential political documents in American history.