The settlement of Mars must therefore occur organically, as the settlement of America did, with small groups of pioneers creating the first farms and industries that provide the basis for supporting ever larger waves of settlers to follow.
Basically all of the first "small groups of pioneers" died, and Mars is a more hazardous place by orders of magnitude. No one who makes this comparison between establishing human settlements on Mars and the colonialist expansion on Earth should be taken seriously. It's like comparing diving to the bottom of the Mariana with going snorkeling in Hawaii.
And bluntly, Starship is a scam to extract taxpayer dollars from the government. It is not going to work. It is not intended to work. It is intended to look plausible enough to collect contract money and generate fanboyism to manipulate public opinion.