Mason Vs. George Mason

On July 3rd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress unanimously declared the independence of the thirteen United States of America from Great Britain. Determined to unify the thirteen colonies, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. Although the articles did not prevent the United States from winning independence, the innate flaws of the articles became apparent in the years following the revolution. The problems of the weak, purely legislative national government became too prevalent for agents of the revolution, such as James Madison and George Washington. Madison and Washington were strong supporters of a federal, or national, constitution, and on June 21, 1788, congress ratified the Constitution of the United States. And in doing so, violated the “Revolutionary Ideology” and the will of the American people.

Establishing an effective system of government has proven to be an obstacle for centuries. Fortunately, the Founding Father recognized the common flaws of governments, as did many common men in the colonies. Consequently, the ratification of the constitution was vital for a healthy governmental system, though it did bring about much debate and persuasion. There were two main positions which people took during the ratification, those being the Anti-Federalist and the Federalist. The Anti-Federalist were a diverse assembly involving prominent men such as George Mason and Patrick Henry, and also the most unlikely of individuals, those being Farmers and shopkeepers. The chief complaint about the Constitution was that it confiscated the power from the sates, thereby robbing the people of their power. Oppositely, the Federalist believed in removing some control from the states and imparting that power to the national government, thus making America partially national. Throughout this debate, many letters were shared between the two sides, and eventually, it led to the federalist winning over the colonies.

During the Revolution, Mason led the Virginia Patriots, also drafting the state’s constitution, which carried fragments of what he would dislike about the nation’s constitution.

The Anti-Federalist party was made up of people who, for the most part, lived in the country. They were opposed to developing a federal government, and they did not want to ratify the Constitution, which, they claimed, threatened each free person’s liberites, until the authors included the Bill of Rights. (This granted individual rights of citizens. The Anti-Federalists wanted to write down these so that they could not be taken away from the people by the government like England had done.) Instead, they wanted the state governments to keep the power to prevent monarchies and dictatorships. Famous members of this party were Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Mercy Otis Warren, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and James Monroe. They favored the Articles of Confederation. However, the Articles of Confederation had a few flaws: if a law was to pass, it would need a majority rule (9/13); it lacked a court system (nationally); and it was missing an executive branch. The Bill of Rights was appreciated because they wanted to make sure that individual rights could not be taken away. The Anti-Federalists may not have been a group that agreed with one another all the time, but as their opinions varied, more rights were thought of and protected. For example, one part of the group held the view that the sovereignty of states could be endangered

After Shay’s Rebellion and the nation on the brink of bankruptcy it was clear that the Articles of Confederation would not be adequate to preserve the nation. So began the great battle for the balance between order and freedom. The main point of dispute between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists in the battle over the ratification of the Constitution surrounded the question of what powers and rights were required in order to insure the security and liberty of the nation. The Federalists advocated that a strong central government was needed, which was supported by the failure of the Articles of Confederation. However the Anti-Federalists were determined on keeping the sovereignty of the states and by doing so also retaining their secured political freedom.

The US Constitution was written in 1787, it was later ratified in 1788 then taken in 1789. Supporters of the ratification of the Constitution where known to be the Federalists on the contrary those opposing of the ratification of the Constitution where Anti-Federalists. The immediate problem was not just excepting the Constitution but also for a concern of the government. The Anti-Federalists started a movement due to opposing of the Bill of Rights not being in the Constitution. The Anti-Federalists did not want a strong central federal government. They saw the constitution to be too powerful, possibly as a potential threat.

The ratification of the Constitution was no easy task. Since the Constitution was drafted in strictest secrecy it was time to get the word out. On September 28, Congress directed the state legislatures to call ratification conventions in each state. The ratifying conventions served the necessary function of informing the public of the provisions of the proposed new government. Able, articulate men used newspapers, pamphlets, and public meetings to debate ratification of the Constitution. Those known as Antifederalists opposed the Constitution for a variety of reasons. One frequent objection was that the Constitution gave too much power to the central government at the expense of the states and that a representative government could not manage a republic this large. The most serious criticism was that the Constitutional Convention had failed to adopt a bill of rights proposed by George Mason. The Antifederalist expressed their concerns in several

Their principal argument was that the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government and took away too many powers of the states or lack of protection for individual liberties. Most of the state constitutions of the era had built on the Virginia model that included an explicit protection of individual rights that could not be intruded upon by the state (Ratifying the Constitution, 2016). Some of their other arguments in concern of the constitution included the Supremacy Clause, the powers of the President, the six-year terms of Senators, and about the many new powers granted to Congress. The antifederalist where not well organized but had many influential supporting leaders and many of their conventions where carried out on state levels. Some of these leaders include: George Mason, John Winthrop, and James Madison, who presented the Bill of Rights to congress (The Great

Thomas Jefferson and Madison led the Anti-Federalists to oppose the strong central government which would be created by the constitution. 1776-1783 after the American Revolution, many Americans desired their new found freedoms and were very sensitive to the people that tried to take them away. The Articles

James Madison, George Mason, and John Adams wrote about their thoughts and opinions towards the constitution. Madison believed that each state needed their own government, and not be tied up by the federal government, this is a disadvantage because at the time states were not obeying the federal laws and if states were running themselves this country would not be the way it is right now. Adam’s thoughts were an advantage because he wanted a bicameral government with two houses and a branch for the courts. He wanted this so the higher classes could not power over the lower classes. In Mason’s objectives towards the constitution he mentions it didn’t clearly declare our rights and things stated weren’t properly written and wanted them to be

George was born on December 11, 1725 to gorge and Ann Thomson mason at the end mason family plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia. His religion is Anglican, Episcopalian, when mason was 10, his father drowned in the Potomac when the boat he was in capsized.

Thomas Jefferson, Chief John Ross, and Fredrick Douglas are names that share a common link in American ideals, history, and their temperament to shape American society. Ideas of: The rights of state governments and People vs the federal government, immutable liberties for Indigenous Americans, and abolition of slavery are issues among America’s earliest problems after the ratification of the declaration of independence in 1776. In 1776, The fledging nation was without a government so they enacted the Articles of Confederation, in 1781 – which gave states the right to legislate over themselves. For 10 years this system was imposed until the Constitution was finally drafted in 1787. The constitution was at odds with federalists as they did not want a single governing body because it felt too monarchical. Among these believers in state ruled policies was Thomas Jefferson, who became a well-known anti-federalist.

Probably the biggest issue for both sides however, was the lack of voice of the people. Both Rutland and Cornell point out the void left out by the people. To begin, Rutland points out how in all of this change and new organization there is little known to the people of the nation about this new government. Under the secrecy they could be developing any unknown governments and exploiting the people and contorting the people's freedoms. Colonel Oswald under the name “Centinel” was calling for another convention urging the will of the people be established and all of this secrecy come into light. As Rutland explains this idea of conspiracy against the people. “The federalism of 1787-88, he continued, was a league against the liberty of

The late 18th century was a turbulent time for the citizens of the thirteen colonies. This period saw the adoption of the United States Constitution and the expansion of the federal government. With the Articles of Confederation too weak to properly manage a nation, a new Constitution was desperately needed. The Anti-Federalists, who had no one leader, just very influential members like Patrick Henry, George Mason, and George Clinton, had strong reservations about the powers being granted to a central government. Some of the most important events of this peried were foreign affairs between France and Great Britain, the creation of new political parties for the US, and the assertion of a new, strong central government. It became the job of

Amidst the completion of the U.S. Constitution in 1788, when it had come time to ratify it, there was a general divide amongst the framers and the people. It seemed to split into two groups; the Federalists who favored the ratification and supported the expansion to a stronger and more