George Mason and the Constitution - Ari Sclar

There is no declaration of rights; and the laws of the general government being paramount [superior] to the laws and constitutions of the several states, the declarations of rights in the separate states are no security. Nor are the people secured even in the enjoyment of the benefits of the common law, which stands here upon no other foundation than its having been adopted by the respective acts forming the constitutions of the several states.…There is no declaration of any kind for preserving the liberty of the press, the trial by jury in civil cases, nor against the danger of standing armies in time of peace.…

- George Mason, October 7, 1787

1. According to George Mason, what is one argument against ratifying the new Constitution?

2. What 'faction' would Mason have allied himself with in the debate over ratification of the Constitution and what groups of Americans would have been Mason’s allies in the fight over ratification?

3. What would have Mason argued was necessary to ensure the preservation of the freedoms described in the final sentence. How would he have argued that this would safeguard the preservation of liberty?