Download or read book Real Democracy written by Frank M. Bryan and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-03-15 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relying on an astounding collection of more than three decades of firsthand research, Frank M. Bryan examines one of the purest forms of American democracy, the New England town meeting. At these meetings, usually held once a year, all eligible citizens of the town may become legislators; they meet in face-to-face assemblies, debate the issues on the agenda, and vote on them. And although these meetings are natural laboratories for democracy, very few scholars have systematically investigated them. A nationally recognized expert on this topic, Bryan has now done just that. Studying 1,500 town meetings in his home state of Vermont, he and his students recorded a staggering amount of data about them—238,603 acts of participation by 63,140 citizens in 210 different towns. Drawing on this evidence as well as on evocative "witness" accounts—from casual observers to no lesser a light than Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn—Bryan paints a vivid picture of how real democracy works. Among the many fascinating questions he explores: why attendance varies sharply with town size, how citizens resolve conflicts in open forums, and how men and women behave differently in town meetings. In the end, Bryan interprets this brand of local government to find evidence for its considerable staying power as the most authentic and meaningful form of direct democracy. Giving us a rare glimpse into how democracy works in the real world, Bryan presents here an unorthodox and definitive book on this most cherished of American institutions.
Download or read book The New England Town Meeting written by Joseph F. Zimmerman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1999-03-30 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this groundbreaking study, Zimmerman explores the town meeting form of government in all New England states. This comprehensive work relies heavily upon surveys of town officers and citizens, interviews, and mastery of the scattered writing on the subject. Zimmerman finds that the stereotypes of the New England open town meeting advanced by its critics are a serious distortion of reality. He shows that voter superintendence of town affairs has proven to be effective, and there is no empirical evidence that thousands of small towns and cities with elected councils are governed better. Whereas the relatively small voter attendance suggests that interest groups can control town meetings, their influence has been offset effectively by the development of town advisory committees, particularly the finance committee and the planning board, which are effective counterbalances to pressure groups. Zimmerman provides a new conception of town meeting democracy, positing that the meeting is a de facto representative legislative body with two safety valves—open access to all voters and the initiative to add articles to the warrant, and the calling of special meetings to reconsider decisions made at the preceding town meeting. And, as Zimmerman points out, a third safety valve—the protest referendum—can be adopted by a town meeting.
Download or read book Town Hall Meetings and the Death of Deliberation written by Jonathan Beecher Field and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the erosion of democratic norms in the US and the conditions that make it possible Jonathan Beecher Field tracks the permutations of the town hall meeting from its original context as a form of democratic community governance in New England into a format for presidential debates and a staple of corporate governance. In its contemporary iteration, the town hall meeting models the aesthetic of the former but replaces actual democratic deliberation with a spectacle that involves no immediate electoral stakes or functions as a glorified press conference. Urgently, Field notes that though this evolution might be apparent, evidence suggests many US citizens don’t care to differentiate. Forerunners: Ideas First Short books of thought-in-process scholarship, where intense analysis, questioning, and speculation take the lead
Download or read book Why Town Meeting written by George Vernon Denny and published by . This book was released on 19?? with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Why Town Meeting written by George Vernon Denny and published by . This book was released on 19?? with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Democratic Innovations written by Graham Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-02 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines democratic innovations from around the world, drawing lessons for the future development of both democratic theory and practice.
Download or read book Lead from the Outside written by Stacey Abrams and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2018-04-24 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lead from the Outside is a necessary guide to harnessing the strengths of being an outsider by Stacey Abrams, one of the most prominent black female politicians in the U.S. Leadership is hard. Convincing others—and often yourself—that you possess the answers and are capable of world-affecting change requires confidence, insight, and sheer bravado. Stacey Abrams's Lead from the Outside is the handbook for outsiders, written with the awareness of the experiences and challenges that hinder anyone who exists beyond the structure of traditional white male power—women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make a difference. In Lead from the Outside, Stacey Abrams argues that knowing your own passion is the key to success, regardless of the scale or target. From launching a company, to starting a day care center for homeless teen moms, to running a successful political campaign, finding what you want to fight for is as critical as knowing how to turn thought into action. Stacey uses her experience and hard-won insights to break down how ambition, fear, money, and failure function in leadership, while offering personal stories that illuminate practical strategies. Stacey includes exercises to help you hone your skills and realize your aspirations. She discusses candidly what she has learned over the course of her impressive career: that differences in race, gender, and class are surmountable. With direction and dedication, being in the minority actually provides unique and vital strength, which we can employ to rise to the top and make real change.
Download or read book Connecticut Town Meeting Records During the American Revolution written by Jolene Roberts Mullen and published by . This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 812 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This two-volume series offers a collection of extracts from the minutes of the town meetings of the towns that existed in Connecticut during the American Revolution. Town meeting records from April 1775 through November 1783 are included, with the addition of the Committees of Inspection, Correspondence and Safety in 1774. Volume I covers Ashford to Milford; Volume II covers New Fairfield to Woodstock. All persons who were mentioned in the meeting records are included. Meeting records mentioned individuals who were elected or appointed to a town office or committee, died or moved while in office, were appointed to fill a vacant office, were warned out, applied for permission to free a slave, became a freed slave, became sufficiently poor or ill as to require financial support, owned property along a new highway, lent money to the Cause, left for or returned from military service, and more. Lists of those who took the oath of fidelity/allegiance or the freeman's oath are included (if available). Both volumes in this series contain a parent town list, which gives the incorporation date of each town and from which town(s) each was created; a map of Connecticut towns, and a full-name index.
Download or read book The Nation We Knew written by Steven Douglas Shepard and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-05 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would the United States look like-what would it represent-if leadership suddenly put country before party, possibility before dogma, and created a vision of a better future and then executed against that vision? In this thought-provoking book, a new president takes the country to task-and reinvents government, healthcare, job creation, foreign relations, transportation infrastructure, and education, and with the help of her unlikely cabinet, shows the nation-and the world-what could be, rather than what is.
Download or read book Suggested Rules of Procedure for a City Council written by Trey Allen and published by Local Government Board Builder. This book was released on 2017-05-24 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in its fourth edition, this book provides city councils with model procedural rules for their meetings. The model rules cover, among many other topics, the organizational meeting, pertinent requirements of the open meetings law, the role of the presiding officer, agenda preparation and approval, substantive and procedural motions, voting rules, ordinance adoption, public hearings, and public comment periods. Legal and practical issues are analyzed in the comments that follow each rule. The fourth edition differs from prior editions in important ways. It incorporates significant statutory changes that have occurred since a revised version of the third edition was published in 2007. Both the rules themselves and the comments have undergone extensive modifications in an effort to make the book even more useful to municipal governing boards. New appendixes include tables showing the numbers of members necessary to establish a quorum and the number of votes required to adopt an ordinance or approve a contract. This book is a must for council members, city managers and administrators, city clerks, and city attorneys. Anyone with a general interest in local government or parliamentary procedure will also want a copy. BONUS FEATURE: Upon purchasing this book, the buyer will receive an electronic version of the book's procedural rules that can be customized to fit a particular council's specific needs. See the Local Government Board Builders Series webpage for other books in the series and related School of Government publications (https: //www.sog.unc.edu/resource-series/local-government-board-builders-series-0).
Download or read book Robert s Rules of Order Newly Revised 12th edition written by Henry M. Robert III and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 848 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only current authorized edition of the classic work on parliamentary procedure--now in a new updated edition Robert's Rules of Order is the recognized guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings. This 12th edition is the only current manual to have been maintained and updated since 1876 under the continuing program established by General Henry M. Robert himself. As indispensable now as the original edition was more than a century ago, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is the acknowledged "gold standard" for meeting rules. New and enhanced features of this edition include: Section-based paragraph numbering to facilitate cross-references and e-book compatibility Expanded appendix of charts, tables, and lists Helpful summary explanations about postponing a motion, reconsidering a vote, making and enforcing points of order and appeals, and newly expanded procedures for filling blanks New provisions regarding debate on nominations, reopening nominations, and completing an election after its scheduled time Dozens more clarifications, additions, and refinements to improve the presentation of existing rules, incorporate new interpretations, and address common inquiries Coinciding with publication of the 12th edition, the authors of this manual have once again published an updated (3rd) edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, a simple and concise introductory guide cross-referenced to it.
Download or read book Town Meeting for Americ written by William Bross Lloyd Jr. and published by . This book was released on 2013-02 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Town meeting time written by Richard Brigham Johnson and published by . This book was released on 1962 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Why Town Meeting written by George Vernon Denny (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 1943 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Town Meetings written by Barbara Andrews and published by . This book was released on with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A town meeting is an event where people can discuss problems in their community. Town meetings were very important in colonial times. They are still important today.
Download or read book Town Meeting Discussion Leader s Handbook written by George Vernon Denny (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 1940 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book America s Town Meeting written by Town Hall, Inc and published by . This book was released on 1943 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
