What do you think? Was George Mason the first insurgent leader in American politics?
Quote:
|
Colonel Mason, the master of Gunston Hall, stood on the floor of the Federal Convention of 1787 and appealed for a clear stipulation of the rights of the individual citizen as over against his government, and when it was rejected he refused to sign the Constitution of the United States of America and withdrew from the assemblage to lead a strong opposition party against its ratification. This was the first great political contest in the United States, and so strong did the opposition become that the First Congress was forced to carry through amendments of this nature, and these stand today as the first ten amendments to the Constitution. With this in mind, this pilgrimage to old Gunston Hall, the estate of the first insurgent leader in American politics, is especially interesting.
|
I would nominate Nathanial Bacon.