On December 27, 2020, author Philip Andrew Hamilton and his partner Ruth Olga Sherman visited Gunston Hall, the home of the author’s relative George Mason IV. Founding Father George Mason IV had written the Virginia Declaration of Rights in Williamsburg, Virginia, which the Bill of Rights was based off of, and voted against the adoption of the United States Constitution, because it did not consist a Bill of Rights.
George Mason IV, had twelve children with his first wife Anna Eilbeck Mason. Philip Andrew Hamilton is related to George Mason IV’s son William Mason, whom served in the Fairfax Militia that his father formed and led.
George Mason IV, Anna Eilbeck Mason, and other members of the Mason family are buried within a brick wall, inside a wooded area, walking distance from Gunston Hall.
Author’s Note:
The author Philip Andrew Hamilton and his identical twin brother Jeffrey Patrick Hamilton were both born on the year that the Bicentiennial of the United States Constitution was being celebrated. However, that year many with a critical eye of our nation’s history, such as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall did not believe it was appropriate to celebrate the Constitution since it took so long for all Americans to obtain voting rights.
Philip Andrew Hamilton, along with five of his siblings, went to George Mason University; a former University of Virginia institution named after George Mason IV. While at the University, Philip Andrew Hamilton studied Constitutional Legal Issues, Contract Law, Family Law, Business Law, and obtained a Paralegal Certification.
In addition to adding the Bill of Rights, George Mason IV particularly supported adding Article V of the United States Constitution which allows for a, “Convention of States”:
“The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate”.
George Mason IV supported this measure to allow a majority of states to exert power over the federal government. Philip Andrew Hamilton supports having state legislators evoke Article V of the United States Constitution for the purpose of having term limits for U.S. Congress members and U.S. Senators, and for other measures.
Hamilton Historical Records 