At the invitation of SPJ Region 2 Director Brian Eckert, SPJ-DC president Julie Asher joined members of the Maryland and Virginia pro chapters Dec. 11 for a birthday tribute to George Mason, one of the nation’s Founding Fathers. He was born Dec. 11, 1725, and died Oct. 7, 1792.
As author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Mason was among the first to call for freedom of the press, religious tolerance and other fundamental American liberties. He also attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
After remarks by Paul Fletcher, president of SPJ Virginia Pro, the group had a small wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial to Mason in Washington D.C., followed by SPJ members reading portions of the Declaration of Rights.
The memorial, dedicated on April 9, 2002, is in West Potomac Park, just to the east and south of the Jefferson Memorial.
Jefferson once referred to Mason as “a man of the first order of wisdom.”
“When it finally got down to brass tacks, he refused to sign the Constitution,” Fletcher said. “He was one of three delegates who dissented. His reasons? Two reasons: It lacked a bill of rights, and it did not prohibit the slave trade. This was quite a stand for him to take — he was a plantation owner down in Fairfax, and a slave owner himself.
“He felt slavery was a poison on the morals and minds of the people. It got a lot of attention. It galvanized his contemporary and friend James Madison, the father of the Constitution, he pushed for a bill of rights, which of course was adopted as the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution.”
Members of the SPJ gathering took turns reading from the Virginia Declaration of Rights. After the ceremony, most members visited Mason’s home, Gunston Hall.
Check out the video posted by the Virginia pro chapter.