Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

As you prepare to spend time with loved ones and give thanks for the great gifts in your life, I wanted you to know that I am thankful for you. 

Running for office can be daunting. The baseless attacks from opponents, the 20-hour days, and the time away from friends and family can become overwhelming. But I know we’re in the fight for liberty and limited government together, and your support is one of the greatest blessings in my life.
 
One blessing all Americans share is living in a country rooted in the principles of private property, free enterprise, and individual liberty. As I work to protect those values on Capitol Hill, I want to share a column I wrote years ago about how those principles became the basis for the American Experiment. 

It’s a story that happened in Jamestown, Virginia, more than a decade before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. And unlike the tale of the first Thanksgiving, it actually happened!

If you enjoy reading it as much as I loved researching it, I hope you’ll share it with others who will appreciate learning how one man spread the tenets of hard work and property rights across our continent.

Sarah and I wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

A Real Reason To Give Thanks

Most of us remember the story of the first Thanksgiving. According to lore, in 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians gathered in modern-day Massachusetts to share an autumn harvest feast in the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

In reality, history scholars generally have concluded that this tale — and the idyllic images of Pilgrims and Indians sharing turkey and a hearty laugh — is total baloney.

There is, however, a much more important story of hard work and bountiful harvests in colonial America that should give us all a reason to give thanks. And it’s completely true! 

The lessons taught in this story laid the foundation for the private property rights and economic freedom that allowed America to grow into the greatest country the world has ever known. 

In May 1607, King James of England sent three ships filled with 104 people to the Tidewater region of Virginia to establish the Virginia Company.

When they arrived, the settlers found themselves surrounded by a bountiful environment. Despite the abundance of food waiting for them when they arrived, all but 38 of the original 104 settlers died within six months of establishing Jamestown, mostly of starvation.

Two years later, in the summer of 1609, King James gave the Virginia Company another try. This time, 500 colonists were sent from England to Virginia to attempt to establish a permanent settlement on the coast of North America. The second time proved an even bigger disaster. Even in this land of plenty, 440 people — all but 60 — starved to death.

In a dire, last-ditch attempt to save the Virginia Company, the business’ leaders in England sent a British military officer named Sir Thomas Dale to assess the situation in Virginia and determine why the settlers were having such a hard time making it.

Upon his arrival, Dale was shocked and confused to find these starving settlers spent their time bowling in their yards rather than farming or hunting.

Dale realized the reason the settlers were so lazy, even in the face of their hunger, was because they were being asked to work for the common good. For the first seven years after arriving, the settlers had no ownership of the fruits of their labor.

Everything the settlers produced went into a shared storage area, and they were all allocated equal amounts to feed their families. There was simply no incentive to work hard. The laziest person got as much to eat as the hardest-working person.

Thomas Dale changed all of this by introducing private property to the settlers of the Virginia Company.

Dale allotted each man three acres of land, and anything grown on that land was his to keep, trade, or sell as he wished. It was also declared that no man would be forced to work on communal efforts, such as building churches or clearing roads, for more than one month per year, and never during planting or harvest season.

After Dale implemented this system of private property to replace communal farming and equal distribution, the colony flourished. By the time he left Virginia three years later, the settlement had grown by hundreds of people, and the settlers were well-fed and in good spirits.

By introducing private property rights and a sense of personal responsibility to the Virginia Company, Thomas Dale didn’t just save the lives of a few hundred settlers four centuries ago.

He managed to inject the colonies with the principles of private property, free enterprise, and individual liberty, ideals which have served as the foundation for, and the guiding force of, the United States.

Because of Thomas Dale and the advancements and innovations that resulted from his simple idea 400 years ago, we all live in a richer, safer, healthier, more peaceful, and better world.

For that, we should all be truly thankful.

On The Campaign Trail

Drew is a regular fixture at the Spring Mountain Republican Women's monthly luncheon at Suncoast Hotel and Casino. At the club's most recent meeting, Drew spoke about ways to volunteer for campaigns beyond door-knocking and phone banking. 

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