Wealthy Virginia planter & neighbor of George Washington Served in the House of Burgesses and Virginia General Assembly There, he was tasked with writing a “Declaration of Rights” for Virginians

Written in 1776 along with the Virginia state Constitution Became the basis for the United States Bill of Rights Intended to proclaim the rights of men, including….

Religion … can be directed only by reason not by force Section 16 That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity toward each other. Religion … can be directed only by reason not by force All men are entitled to free exercise of religion It is the mutual duty of all to practice … love, and charity toward each other

Mason believed that newspapers should be able to print the truth and should not be controlled by the government Section 12 That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.

Mason felt that even people who broke the law should have rights. Section 11 That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between man and man, the ancient trial by jury is preferable to any other and ought to be held sacred. Mason felt that even people who broke the law should have rights. One of these rights is the right to a trial by jury

Section 9 That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Additionally, those accused of crimes deserve bail and should suffer no cruel and unusual punishments

Calls for the people to be trained & armed Section 13 That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Calls for the people to be trained & armed No standing armies The military should be under the people’s control

Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 Enacted into state law in Virginia in 1786 Disestablished the Church of England in Virginia Guaranteed freedom of religion to people of all religious faiths

Became the basis for the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”

The ideas expressed in the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom served as models for the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution