The Harpswell Historical Society has reprinted “New England Town Meeting: Safeguard of Democracy,” a 1940 book with connections to the Harpswell area.
American essayist John Gould wrote the book in 1940, at the beginning of World War II. Gould grew up in Freeport, became a correspondent for the Brunswick Record while still in high school, graduated from Bowdoin College, and lived most of his adult life in Lisbon Falls. The book includes photos of town meetings at Redmen’s Hall on Orr’s Island.
Dave Hackett, president of the Harpswell Historical Society, said it is a “very appropriate time” to reintroduce the book.
“Democracy is what has made our country the greatest country in the world,” Hackett wrote in the forward of the reprint. “The idea of bringing a whole town together to discuss and vote upon an issue is as old as our country.”
The book gives an explanation and defense of New England town meetings — a form of direct democracy in which all the voters in a municipality serve as the legislative body, gathering once a year or more to make laws and pass budgets. Harpswell and many other small towns in Maine still practice this form of government.
Hackett spoke to the problem of misinformation being spread on the internet and social media. At town meetings, neighbors share diverse opinions, but there is a “certain agreed-upon truth,” he said.
“I’ve seen people leave town meeting just as happy as can be, and some just absolutely pissed off,” Hackett said. “But they’ve all had their say, and majority rules.”
The Historical Society printed 500 copies of the book, which can be purchased for $15 at the Historical Society, as well as Island Candy Co. on Orr’s Island and Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick. Eighty-five had been sold as of Sept. 10, Hackett said. Because a donor paid for the printing, all proceeds will go to the Historical Society.
“This is history,” Hackett said. “It’s very relevant history in today’s world.”
