Thomas Stevenson Drew - Political Career

Political Career

In 1836, Drew was chosen as a delegate to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention. He was elected Governor in 1844 as a Democrat, having secured the backing of the Conway-Sevier faction that had ruled Arkansas since territorial days. His administration concentrated on the state's financial solvency and attempted to correct the state's bad credit as well as disunity within Democratic ranks. Under Drew, Arkansas became the first southern state to declare Thanksgiving Day as a state holiday. At his wife's urging, Drew secured passage of legislation protecting a woman's property which she brought into a marriage as her own separate entity, distinct from the husband's holdings.

Though Drew was the third person to be elected governor, he was the fourth in office because his predecessor, Samuel Adams, had served as acting governor during much of 1844, having gained the office through the previous position as president of the Arkansas State Senate.

Drew was re-elected governor in 1848. The next year, he dispatched a militia to Marion County to suppress the Tutt-Everett War. Drew only served a year of his second term. He resigned in protest of the $1,500 annual salary, then provided for the governor, was inadequate. He retired from politics and concentrated on his own financial holdings.

In 1860, he was living in Sebastian County near Fort Smith in western Arkansas. He moved to Weatherford west of Fort Worth, Texas, and later moved to Hood County, Texas, where he died in the community of Lipan.