George Mason Memorial facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Mason Memorial
George Mason Memorial
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Location	Washington, D.C., United States
Established	Authorized: 1990 Groundbroken: 2000 Dedicated: 2002
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	George Mason Memorial

The George Mason Memorial is a special place in Washington, D.C. It honors George Mason, one of America's Founding Fathers. He wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This important document helped inspire the United States Bill of Rights. The memorial is located in West Potomac Park, near the Tidal Basin. It was officially approved in 1990 and opened in 2002. This memorial was the first in the Tidal Basin area to honor someone who was not a former U.S. President.

Who Was George Mason?

This memorial celebrates Mason and his big contributions to the United States. He was a Founding Father. Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights. This document was a key step toward protecting individual freedoms. He also helped create much of the ideas for the United States Bill of Rights.

Mason was a delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. However, he did not sign the U.S. Constitution. He felt it did not protect people enough from the federal government. He also wanted the Constitution to end the slave trade. People sometimes called him the "reluctant statesman."

History of the Memorial

The idea for the memorial was approved by a special law on August 10, 1990. The board of regents of Gunston Hall helped develop it. Gunston Hall was George Mason's historic home. Faye B. Harwell was the memorial's landscape architect. Wendy M. Ross was the sculptor. Work on the memorial began on October 18, 2000. It was officially opened on April 9, 2002.

The memorial was built in an old garden. This garden was part of a plan for Washington, D.C., from 1902. In 1929, it was called "the Pansy Garden." The memorial's designers studied the original garden. They brought back its circular shape and used plants that George Mason liked. They also used plants found at Gunston Hall.

Today, the National Park Service manages the George Mason Memorial. It is part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks. This memorial is one of only three places in the National Mall area where weddings can happen. The Jefferson Memorial and the District of Columbia War Memorial are the others. The memorial is located in the southwest part of Washington, D.C. It is near the Potomac River and the "14th Street bridges". One of these bridges is also named after George Mason.

The Sculpture

A close-up view of the George Mason statue

The memorial features a long stone wall, about 72 feet (22 meters) long. There is a large statue of George Mason sitting down. His legs are crossed. He holds a book called De Officiis by Cicero. This book was written in 44 BC. Mason seems to be thinking about something from it.

Two other books are on the bench next to him. One is John Locke's On Understanding. The other is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Du Contract Social. Mason's walking stick and hat are also on the bench. A circular pool with a fountain is also part of the design.

Important Sayings

An inscription at the memorial

Behind the statue, a curved trellis stands about 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall and 72 feet (22 meters) long. Underneath this trellis are three walls with important quotes. These quotes are about 4 feet (1.2 meters) high. They share some of George Mason's thoughts and what others said about him.

Here are some of the quotes you can read:

• "This was George Mason, a man of the first order of wisdom among those who acted on the theatre of the revolution, of expansive mind, profound judgment, cogent in argument.... Thomas Jefferson, 1821"
• "Regarding slavery.... that slow poison, which is daily contaminating the minds and morals of our people. Every gentlemen here is born a petty tyrant. Practiced in acts of despotism and cruelty, we become callous to the dictates of humanity, and all the finer feelings of the soul. Taught to regard a part of our own species in the most abject and contemptible degree below us, we lose that idea of the dignity of man, which the hand of nature had implanted in us, for great and useful purposes.... George Mason, July 1773"
• "I recommend it to my sons.... never to let the motives of private interest or ambition to induce them to betray, nor the terrors of poverty and disgrace or the fear of danger or of death deter them from asserting the liberty of their country, and endeavoring to transmit to their posterity those sacred rights to which themselves were born. George Mason, March 1773"
• "All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent natural 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. George Mason, May 1776"
• "The first declaration of rights which truly deserves the name is that of Virginia... and its author is entitled to the eternal gratitude of mankind. Marquis de Condorcet, Paris 1789"

Images for kids

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  Panorama of the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin, the location of the memorial.