George Mason [1725-1792] is remembered as the father of the Bill of Rights and for his unwillingness to sign the U.S. Constitution. John R. Vile examines Mason's political philosophy and writings that have influenced American political thought. Chief of these is the Virginia Declaration of Rights which served as a basis for the United States Bill of Rights. xxi, 271 pp.

JOHN R. VILE (Ph.D., UVA) is Dean of the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of A Constellation of Great Men: Exploring the Character Sketches of Dr. Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (2019), The Declaration of Independence: America's First Founding Document in U.S. History and Culture (2019), The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding (2016), The Wisest Council in the World: Restoring the Character Sketches by William Pierce of Georgia of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (2015), and numerous books on the U.S. Constitution.