In May 1764, a fateful meeting was organized, a meeting that would affect the history of America forever after: it was the town meeting in Boston to discuss the Stamp Act. It was at this meeting that the first public denial of the Parliament’s right to tax the colonies was declared. And so history was made. Even before the American Revolution, the Puritans in New England created self-governing communities. Within these communities, they created town meetings in which they would vote on subjects such as taxes, road construction, and the election of officials. The town meeting proved incalculably vital at those moments in history, and so it continues to be today.

The Town Meeting Form of Government thus can be found at the very roots of our country in these Puritan communities and later on in our country’s fight for independence. “Town Meeting Form of Government is the Legislative assembly of a U.S. town in which all or some voters are empowered to conduct the community's affairs” defines The Britannica Dictionary. A moderator is chosen at each meeting and votes are taken. Many topics are decided by the Town Meeting including the salaries for the elected officials and the town budget, as well as the voting on local statutes. There are several variations on this ancient form of government of the colonial era. For example, open town meetings allow all registered voters to vote, whereas representative town meetings allow only elected members to vote.

Yet the Town Meeting Form of Government is so much more than a definition; it is a truth that our town, as well as our country, has come to rely on. Henry David Thoreau said of this form of government: “…When, in some obscure country town, the farmers come together to a special town-meeting, to express their opinion on some subject which is vexing the land, that, I think, is the true Congress, and the most respectable one that is ever assembled in the United States.” To me, Thoreau captures the most important element of the Town Meeting: participation. It is when every “farmer”—and today every businessman, teacher, student, nurse, and worker too—comes to “express [his or her] opinion on some subject which is vexing the land” that democracy is at its purest. It is a very real way in which every individual can become involved in the issues that affect the town. For, it is only with the involvement of the citizens—to vote and participate—that a Town Meeting Form of Government is successful.

I have been able to see the very important role that the Town Meeting Form of Government, which includes the participation of citizens, plays in the town of Clinton. I have always felt very much a part of the Clinton community. For example, for the past three years, I have been involved in the Rotary Service Club for high school students. Each year I participated in everything from benefit walks and concerts to food drives and soup kitchens. As treasurer this year, I have kept track of finances, making sure the money we work so hard to raise is sent to the causes we’ve chosen to support. Recently, we organized a prom fashion show with the benefits going to the Clinton Cancer Relief Fund, which helps those in Clinton who have cancer and are in need of financial support. We also planned, cooked, prepared, and served a meal at the soup kitchen in Clinton. In these ways, I have been working directly within the Clinton community, and it has been a combination of these experiences that has helped me come to understand and appreciate the close-knit community that I have grown up in—a community I took for granted when I was younger. I do believe that the closeness of our town is due in part to the fact that every individual is valued and has a voice in our town government. I now recognize the names and faces of selectmen and members of the board of education as neighbors and friends. Therefore, not only does the Town Meeting affect the government of the town, but also the overall attitude of those in Clinton, allowing people like myself to want to become involved in the community.

The Town Meeting Form of Government also plays an important role in Clinton because of the decisions that are come to at these Town Meetings. For example, very recently, the town budget was voted on. The town budget, which includes the school budget, not only affects my teachers and classes, but also my parents, and essentially myself. It was the ideas and opinions of thousands of people that led to the final outcome of the town budget.

The ability to be involved in one’s own government is truly priceless; not only is it one’s right as a citizen, but it is one’s duty. The age-old Town Meeting Form of Government allows the citizens of Clinton the opportunity to be heard and speak their mind in a public setting. And it is in this public setting that the thoughts and ideas of every individual can be shared, and thus, it is there that a single person can have an impact.