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 * George Mason**

Anti-Federalist from Virginia

Virginia was a largely Anti-Federalist state, and one of the last four to ratify the Constitution. It was mainly an agricultural state, with lots of backwoods farmers that kept to themselves and feared that strong central government would interfere with their daily lives. Growing tobacco was the main export, and this would play a role in the influence of anti-federalism. They felt that the Constitution would oppress their freedoms, make them pay off their debts, and tax them.

George Mason was the son of a large plantation owner, which he would later inherit. A statesman, he would attend the Constitutional Convention and Virginia Ratifying Constitution.

He was one of most vocal debaters in the Constitutional Convention. Angered by the Convention's refusal to abolish slave trade, he was one of three people who did not sign the Constitution. This made him widely unpopular, but his Declaration of Rights would influence James Madison's Bill of Rights.

Mason attended the Virginia Ratifying Convention and lobbied for the addition of a Bill of Rights.

"Annals of American History." Annals of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. ."

"GEORGE MASON." Welcome to Gunston Hall. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. ."

"Objections to the Constitution by George Mason." TeachingAmericanHistory.org -- Free Seminars and Summer Institutes for Social Studies Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. ."%Pr