George Mason contributed to the United States Constitution by becoming the chief supporter of the Bill of Rights.
Mason was a delegate to the<em> US Constitutional Convention</em> of 1787. However, at that time, he refused to sign the Constitution alleging the inexistence of the <em>Bill of Rights</em> and objecting the slave trade for navigation acts. Finally, he succeeded to introduce the draft that will served as the basis of <em>the United States Bill of Rights</em> during the First Congress in 1789.
The checks and balances system in the Constitution is important because it helps to prevent any one branch of government from gaining too much power. The three main branches are the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Here are some examples. The President can veto a bill passed by Congress, preventing it from becoming law. This is an executive branch check on the legislative branch. In turn, the Congress can vote to override that veto with a two thirds majority in both the Senate and House, and the bill will become law. This is a Legislative check on the Executive branch. Finally, the Supreme Court, when ruling on a case, decide to use its power of judicial review to declare some law of Congress or act of the President unconstitutional. This is a judicial check on both the executive and legislative branches. Hope this helps
