TOWN-MEETING
\tˈa͡ʊnmˈiːtɪŋ], \tˈaʊnmˈiːtɪŋ], \t_ˈaʊ_n_m_ˈiː_t_ɪ_ŋ]\
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the meeting of all freemen of a town in primary assembly for the discussion of local affairs and the election of local officers. This has been one of the most characteristic of New England institutions, and one of the most valuable, because of the education it has afforded in politics. Jefferson on this account wished that something similar might be introduced into Virginia. In the type of local government which has been instituted in the northernmost row of Western States, the township usually has a town-meeting. In the row of States west of the Middle States, this is not usual.
By John Franklin Jameson