    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
    [November 19, 2007]
    [Pages 1485-1488]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia
    November 19, 2007

        Thank you all. Thanks very much. Thanks for the warm welcome. I am
    proud to be back in the great State of Virginia. I particularly
    appreciate the chance to visit Berkeley Plantation. I thank the good
    people who care for this historic treasure. Over the years, Presidents
    have visited Berkeley. President William Henry Harrison called it home.
    As a matter of fact, it was here where he composed the longest
    inauguration speech in history. [Laughter] He went on for nearly 2
    hours. You don't need to worry; I'm not going to try to one up him
    today. [Laughter]
        Berkeley also claims to be the site of America's first official
    Thanksgiving. The good folks here say that the founders of Berkeley held
    their celebration before the pilgrims had even left port. As you can
    imagine, this version of events is not very popular up North. [Laughter]
    But even the administration of President Kennedy--a son of
    Massachusetts--recognized Berkeley's role in this important holiday. And
    so this afternoon I've come to honor Berkeley's history and to continue
    the great American tradition of giving thanks.
        Laura sends her best. Now, most people say,
    ``I wish she'd have come and not you.'' [Laughter] She's doing just
    fine, and I know she is going to be envious when I describe how
    beautiful this part of the country is. And I thank you for giving me a
    chance to come.
        I want to thank my friend Tom Saunders, who is the founder of the Saunders Trust for American
    History at the New York Historical Society. That means he and his wife
    Jordan are raising money to make sure this
    site is as beautiful as it is and stays an important part of our history
    and legacy.
        I thank Judy and Jamie Jamieson, who happen to be the owners of this
    beautiful site, and I appreciate your hospitality. I can't help but
    recognize my daughter's future father-in-
    law. [Laughter] I appreciate you coming. A lot
    of people think she's showed some pretty good common sense to marry
    somebody from Virginia. He's doing all right
    himself. [Laughter]
        I appreciate the fact that the Congressman from this district,
    Congressman Bobby Scott, is with us.
    Thanks for coming, Bobby. Congressman Eric Cantor from Richmond is with us. And Congressman Randy Forbes, appreciate you coming, Randy.
        I want to thank the Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling, for joining us. Thank you for coming, Governor. Bob
    McDonnell, the Attorney General--General, I
    appreciate you being here. I had the honor of meeting the high sheriff.
    Sheriff, thank you and your law enforcement officials. I'm proud to be
    with you. I want to thank all the local officeholders and State
    officeholders. And most of all, thank you for letting me come by, and I
    appreciate you coming.

    [[Page 1486]]

        Every November, we celebrate the traditions of Thanksgiving; we're
    fixing to do so again. We remember that the pilgrims great--gave thanks
    after their first harvest in New England. We remember that George
    Washington led his men in Thanksgiving during the American Revolution.
    And we remember that Abraham Lincoln revived the Thanksgiving tradition
    in the midst of a bloody civil war.
        Yet few Americans remember much about Berkeley. They don't know the
    story of the Berkeley Thanksgiving. This story has its beginnings in the
    founding of the colony of Virginia four centuries ago. As the colony
    grew, settlers ventured beyond the walls of Jamestown and into the
    surrounding countryside. The Berkeley Company of England acquired 8,000
    acres of nearby land and commissioned an expedition to settle it.
        In 1619, a band of 38 settlers departed Bristol, England, for
    Berkeley aboard a ship like the one behind me. At the end of their long
    voyage, the men reviewed their orders from home. And here's what the
    orders said: ``The day of our ship's arrival . . . shall be yearly and
    perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.'' Upon
    hearing those orders, the men fell to their knees in prayer. And with
    this humble act of faith, the settlers celebrated their first
    Thanksgiving in the New World.
        In the years that followed, the settlers at Berkeley faced many
    hardships. And in 1622, the settlement was destroyed. Berkeley became a
    successful plantation after it was rebuilt, when people returned to this
    site. And it is an important part of our history. And as we look back on
    the story of Berkeley, we remember that we live in a land of many
    blessings.
        The story of Berkeley reminds us that we live in a land of
    opportunity. We remember that the settlers at Berkeley came to America
    with the hope of building a better life. And we remember that immigrants
    in every generation have followedin their footsteps. Their dreams have
    helped transform 13 small Colonies into a large and growing nation of
    more than 300 million people.
        Today, we're blessed with great prosperity. We're blessed with
    farmers and ranchers who provide us with abundant food. We're blessed
    with the world's finest workers, with entrepreneurs who create new jobs.
    We're blessed with devoted teachers who prepare our children for the
    opportunities of tomorrow. We're blessed with a system of free
    enterprise that makes it possible for people of all backgrounds to rise
    in society and realize their dreams. These blessings have helped us
    build a strong and growing economy, and these blessings have filled our
    lives full of hope.
        The story of Berkeley reminds us that we live in a nation dedicated
    to liberty. In 1776, Berkeley's owner, Benjamin Harrison, became one of
    the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration,
    we see the Founders' great hope for our country, their conviction that
    we're all created equal, with the God-given right to life, liberty, and
    the pursuit of happiness.
        At times, America has fallen short of these ideals. We remember that
    the expansion of our country came at a terrible cost to Native American
    tribes. We remember that many people came to the New World in chains
    rather than by choice. For many years, slaves were held against their
    will here at Berkeley and other plantations, and their bondage is a
    shameful chapter in our Nation's history.
        Today, we're grateful to live in a more perfect Union. Yet our
    society still faces divisions that hold us back. These divisions have
    roots in the bitter experiences of our past and have no place in
    America's future. The work of realizing the ideals of our founding
    continues, and we must not rest until the promise of America is real for
    all our citizens.

    [[Page 1487]]

        We're also grateful to live in a time when freedom is taking hold in
    places where liberty was once unimaginable. Since the beginning of the
    1980s, the number of democracies in the world has more than doubled.
    From our own history, we know these young democracies will face
    challenges and setbacks in the journey ahead. Yet as they travel the
    road to freedom, they must know that they will have a constant and
    reliable friend in the United States of America.
        The story of Berkeley reminds us to honor those who have sacrificed
    in the cause of freedom. During the Civil War, Union forces at Berkeley
    adopted a nightly bugle call that has echoed throughout the ages. The
    bugle call has become known as ``Taps.'' And when we hear it play, we
    remember that the freedoms we enjoyed have come at a heavy price.
        Today, the men and women of the United States Armed Forces are
    taking risks for our freedom. They're fighting on the frontlines of the
    war on terror, the war against extremists and radicals who would do us
    more harm. Many of them will spend Thanksgiving far from the comforts of
    home. And so we thank them for their service and sacrifice. We keep
    their families and loved ones in our prayers. We pray for the families
    who lost a loved one in this fight against the extremists and radicals,
    and we vow that their sacrifice will not be in vain.
        This Thanksgiving, we pay tribute to all Americans who serve a cause
    larger than themselves. We are thankful for the police officers who
    patrol our streets. We're thankful for the firefighters who protect our
    homes and property. We're thankful for the leaders of our churches and
    synagogues and all faith-based organizations that call us to live lives
    of charity. We're thankful of the ordinary citizens who become good
    Samaritans in times of distress.
        This Thanksgiving, we remember the many examples of the good heart
    of the American people that we have seen this past year. We remember the
    Virginia Tech professor who died blocking a gunman from entering his
    classroom. As a survivor of the Holocaust, Professor Liviu Librescu had
    seen the worst of humanity, yet through his sacrifice, he showed us the
    best.
        We remember the Minneapolis man who was
    escorting a busload of children when the bridge underneath them
    collapsed. Jeremy Hernandez responded to this emergency with courage. He
    broke open the back door of the bus, and he helped lead every child on
    board to safety.
        We remember the people in New Orleans who are rebuilding a great
    American city. One of them is Principal Doris Hicks. After Katrina, many said that her school could never
    return to its building in the Lower Ninth Ward. But Principal Hicks had
    a different point of view; she had a different attitude. As a matter of
    fact, she had a uniquely American attitude. She had a vision for a
    resurgent community with a vibrant school at its heart. This summer, the
    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology
    became the first public school to reopen in the Lower Ninth Ward.
        These stories remind us that our Nation's greatest strength is the
    decency and compassion of our people. As we count our many blessings, I
    encourage all Americans to show their thanks by giving back. You know, I
    just visited the Central Virginia Foodbank. If you're living in Richmond
    and you want to give back, help the Central Virginia Foodbank. The
    volunteers there help prepare thousands of meals for the poor each day.
    And in so doing, they make the Richmond community and our Nation a more
    hopeful place. And there are many ways to spread hope this holiday:
    volunteer in a shelter, mentor a child, help an elderly neighbor, say
    thanks to one who wears our Nation's uniform.
        In the four centuries since the founders of Berkeley first knelt on
    these grounds, our Nation has changed in many ways. Our people have
    prospered; our Nation has

    [[Page 1488]]

    grown; our Thanksgiving traditions have evolved--after all, they didn't
    have football back then. [Laughter] Yet the source of all our blessings
    remains the same. We give thanks to the Author of Life who granted our
    forefathers safe passage to this land, who gives every man, woman, and
    child on the face of the Earth the gift of freedom, and who watches over
    our Nation every day.
        I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I offer Thanksgiving
    greetings to every American citizen. May God bless you, and may God
    continue to bless the United States of America.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:24 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    John H. Hager, chairman, Republican Party of Virginia; and Beverly A.
    Washington, sheriff, Charles City County, Virginia. The related
    Thanksgiving Day proclamation of November 15 is listed in Appendix D at
    the end of this volume.