Town Meeting
288 pages, 6 x 9
10 b&w illus., 6 maps, 1 graph
Paperback
Release Date:20 Jan 2011
ISBN:9781558498556
Town Meeting
Practicing Democracy in Rural New England
University of Massachusetts Press
At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln described government by the people as "the great task remaining before us." Many citizens of modern America, frustrated and disheartened, are tempted to despair of realizing that ideal. Yet, it is a project still alive in parts of New England.
This book traces the origins of town-meeting democracy in Ashfield, a community of just under 2,000 people in the foothills of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Donald Robinson begins by recounting several crises at the town's founding in the eighteenth century that helped to shape its character. He shows how the town has changed since then and examines how democratic self-government functions in the modern context.
The picture is not pretty. Self-government carries no guarantees, and Ashfield is no utopia. Human failings are abundantly on display. Leaders mislead. Citizens don't pay attention and they forget hard-earned lessons.
But in this candid account of the operation of democracy in one New England town, Robinson demonstrates that for better and for worse, Ashfield governs itself democratically. Citizens control the actions of their government. Not everyone participates, but all may, and everyone who lives in the town must accept and obey what town meeting decides.
This book traces the origins of town-meeting democracy in Ashfield, a community of just under 2,000 people in the foothills of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Donald Robinson begins by recounting several crises at the town's founding in the eighteenth century that helped to shape its character. He shows how the town has changed since then and examines how democratic self-government functions in the modern context.
The picture is not pretty. Self-government carries no guarantees, and Ashfield is no utopia. Human failings are abundantly on display. Leaders mislead. Citizens don't pay attention and they forget hard-earned lessons.
But in this candid account of the operation of democracy in one New England town, Robinson demonstrates that for better and for worse, Ashfield governs itself democratically. Citizens control the actions of their government. Not everyone participates, but all may, and everyone who lives in the town must accept and obey what town meeting decides.
I very much like what Donald Robinson does in this book: he provides a personal account and record of the sorts of issues that a New England town deals with in the modern era and demonstrates why town democracy of this sort is so valuable in generating in citizens the habits and skills necessary to sustain a political system.'—John Dinan, author of Keeping the People's Liberties: Legislators, Citizens, and Judges as Guardians of Rights
'An admirable attempt to give insight into a distinctively American form of local governance that remains vibrant in the 21st century. Recommended.'—Choice
'Robinson adds not only a savvy, outstanding dimension to the pantheon of American humor—his penetrating historical study focuses on political comedy, especially the standup performer—but further stresses humor's centrality in contemporary political life. . . . Robinson's overview of political culture is at once comprehensive, incisive, and vital.'—American Historical Review
'While the judgments of citizens seem as sound as those of elected representatives, citizens too often overlook the assistance they could attain from experts. In the end, Robinson judges town meeting democracy to be deeply satisfying to those who participate in it, but--like methods of governance--subject to limitations.'—American Studies
Donald L. Robinson is professor emeritus of government and American studies at Smith College and the author of numerous books on American politics and history. He served on the select board of Ashfield during the 1990s.
