June 12, 1776 – Virginia Unanimously Adopts the Declaration of Rights, Forerunner to the U.S. Declaration of Independence

On this day in history, at the Fifth Virginia Convention at Williamsburg, Virginia unanimously adopted The Declaration of Rights for the State of Virginia, which then appeared in the papers just as Jefferson was working on his draft of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The Virginia Declaration was mostly written by George Mason, a fourth generation Virginian. (James Madison assisted Mason with the section on religious freedom, and other members of the convention added small edits.)

Print of George Mason of Virginia based on a painting in the possession of the family. Courtesy of the University of Chicago LIbrary and the Library of Congress American Memory digital collection

Inspired by the English Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, among others, Mason asserted, “That all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent 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.” 

This document was the first in America to call for freedom of the press, tolerance of religion, proscription of unreasonable searches, and the right to a fair and speedy trial.

Law professor and historian William G. Hyland Jr. observed:

Mason’s Declaration of Rights was personally handed to Jefferson in manuscript form by [Richard Henry] Lee, who had received it from his brother, T.L. Lee, in late May, 1776. Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration, which has never been found, seemed extremely similar to Mason’s Declaration of Rights. Both Franklin and Adams, who were on the committee with Jefferson in Philadelphia, later prepared a Bills of Rights for their respective states. Yet neither of them adopted Jefferson’s version of the Declaration. The Pennsylvania’s Bill of Rights of September 28, 1776 also used Mason’s language:

‘All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, amongst which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring and possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.’

Thus, the historical case can be made that George Mason should be fully credited with the original draft of what ultimately became the famed Declaration of Independence.”

In 1787, Mason attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.  He was distressed over the amount of power being given to the federal government, the convention’s unwillingness to abolish the slave trade, and its lack of acceptance of a bill of rights to preface the new Constitution. He therefore refused to sign the document. One of three dissenters, Mason’s lack of support for the new Constitution made him unpopular and destroyed his friendship with George Washington, who later referred to Mason as his former friend.

But Mason’s ideas were widely accepted, and at the first session of the U.S. Congress, James Madison introduced a Bill of Rights that echoed the Virginia Declaration.

You can read the full text of the Virginia Declaration of Rights here.