Last updated: July 2, 2026
Place
Information Panel: George Mason Memorial
NPS / Laurel Brodsky
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
"All men are born equally free and independent. And have certain inherent natural rights ... among which are the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."
Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 1776. This quote is inscribed next to the statue of George Mason.
In front of you a statue of George Mason holds a book by Cicero, a Roman politician and orator. Mason used ideas from Cicero and others to write the Virginia Declaration of Rights in May of 1776, the first document to protect individual rights in the United States. The document served as inspiration for the Declaration of Independence written weeks later. When Mason's ideas for protecting individual rights were unanimously rejected at the 1787 Constitutional Convention he campaigned against the Constitution's passage. However, Mason's ideas lived on. James Madison borrowed heavily from Mason to write the Bill of Rights, securing American individual liberties for over 220 years.
Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 1776. This quote is inscribed next to the statue of George Mason.
In front of you a statue of George Mason holds a book by Cicero, a Roman politician and orator. Mason used ideas from Cicero and others to write the Virginia Declaration of Rights in May of 1776, the first document to protect individual rights in the United States. The document served as inspiration for the Declaration of Independence written weeks later. When Mason's ideas for protecting individual rights were unanimously rejected at the 1787 Constitutional Convention he campaigned against the Constitution's passage. However, Mason's ideas lived on. James Madison borrowed heavily from Mason to write the Bill of Rights, securing American individual liberties for over 220 years.