George Mason (American history syllabus) a Great American in History
In studying George Mason and his strong insistence that citizen rights be included into the original Constitution, one can only conclude that he cared more about the future of our nation than anything else in his life. Indeed, we find although the bill of rights was not included in the original Constitution, it was put into other state Constitutions including the Common Wealth of Virginia. Eventually the Bill of Rights did become one of the hallmarks of our freedoms thanks in part to his strength of character and recommendations.
Rights of citizens are of importance in any nation or civilization. Recently I had a conversation about this with a scholarly African American who called George Mason a hypocrite, because he owned slaves and that hardly speaks of human rights in today’s present period. But I indicated that was then and we are here and now and must take into consideration the current period and our current perceptions.
George Mason, was he a hypocrite? His steadfast demand to have this in the original Constitution cost him his dear friendship with George Washington. He knew full well that you have to stand for what you believe in and he did. Therefore he was not a hypocrite, he may have been overly exuberant of his race, but not a hypocrite. In fact he knew the toll that life in the political public life takes on a man, from a very personal experience. He even wrote this in a letter a friend about his own sons going into politics:
“I recommend it to my sons from my own experience in life, to prefer the happiness of independence and a private station to the troubles and vexation of public business, but if either their own inclinations or the necessity of the times should engage them in public affairs, I charge them on a father’s blessing never to let the motives of private interest or ambition induce them to betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace, or the fear of danger or of death, deter them from asserting the liberty of their country and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which themselves were born.”
George Mason, may have been very proud of his race and nation, perhaps in today’s terms one might be able to call that conviction a racist? But in his day he was not considered a racist, but rather a pillar of leadership and a learned man, with conviction and strength of character, which should make us as proud of him. In further review I would challenge anyone who would conclude he was a hypocrite, for it is simply not so.
If we are to see today what the bill of rights has done for the very African Americans who call him a hypocrite; we see a stepping-stone for their mission to be equal citizens today in every single way. Y’all think on that please.
Lance Winslow
Tags: famous people in american history, famous african american in history, american history industrial revolution, history native american mythology, american history topics, american cultural history
