Local Government.
In the chapter on Government we learned that the people of the United
States owe allegiance to two systems of government; the one a central
national government, the other the state governments. We have now to
mention a third system of governments, namely, local governments; for
citizens of the United States live, in reality, under three distinct
governments: first and highest, the National United States Government;
second, State governments, and third, local governments. It is
concerning local governments in the United States that we shall learn in
this chapter.
Just as the whole United States is divided into forty-eight sections,
each section being a State or Territory, so each State is in turn, for
convenience in the administration of its government, divided into small
local areas, each division managing those affairs which appertain to its
own area. Many of these divisions were not formed by dividing up the
States. The divisions came first, or sprang up naturally within the
States as soon as the colonies were settled. Social governments were the
first governments formed in the settlement of our Western territory. Dr.
Edward Bemis has described the beginnings of government in a new State
in the following interesting manner:
"The genesis of local government in Western hamlets is very simple.
First comes the settler who, ax in hand, clears the ground for his
humble dwelling, and plants whatever seed he has brought with him. Then
comes another settler and another until perhaps a dozen families are
established near. Two wants are now felt: roads, or at least paths from
house to house, from hamlet to market town, and a school-house for the
multiplying children. There is no strong central authority to provide
these things, but the settlers meet and vote to tax themselves. The
services of a supervisor, collector, clerk, constable and justice of the
peace are required."[1] This is the beginning of the township and
county. As population increases, other wants arise which only a stronger
government can supply. A territorial, and then a State government are
consequently formed.
[Footnote 1: Local Government in Michigan and the Northwest. _J.H.U.
Studies in History and Political Science._ Vol. I, No. 5, p. 11.]
The principal duties of local governments are those of education,
police, sanitation, charity, the construction and maintenance of public
roads, the administration of justice, the assessment and collection of
taxes, etc.
There are three types of local government in the United States: First,
the New England type, in which the unit of government is the town or
township; second, the Southern type, in which the unit is the county;
and third, the Western system, in which the New England and Southern
systems are combined.
_#1st. Local Government New England.#_--Here the unit of government is
the township, or town, as it is usually called. There are few towns
exceeding five square miles in area, and the population is generally
less than 3,000. The New England township is therefore not a thickly
settled area. When a town becomes closely settled it is incorporated as
a city.
In the New England towns the people govern themselves directly. In the
State and Federal governments the people are governed not by themselves,
but through representatives chosen by themselves. The town or township
form of government is that of a pure democracy; the States and Federal
governments are representative governments or republics.
The supreme governing power of a town is in the town meeting, composed
of all qualified voters of the town. The town meeting is held in the
Spring of each year. After the choice of a Moderator, officers are
elected for the ensuing year, reports of officers for the past year
read, and the amount of taxes to be raised and expenditures to be made
during the year, determined upon. The officers are the Selectmen, three,
five, seven or nine in number, who constitute the executive officers of
the town, and administer the ordinances passed by the town meeting; a
town clerk, who keeps a record of the proceedings of the town meeting,
and a record of births, deaths, marriages, etc.; a treasurer, assessors
and collectors of taxes, constables, and various other petty officers.
Several offices are frequently given to the same individual.
The county also exists in New England, and is formed by the union of
several towns, but it is of very little importance, and has but few
duties. The township system is found in the Middle States, but in a
modified form. It is less democratic as a rule--officers being elected
by ballot, the town meeting generally absent, and county government more
important.
_#2d. Local Government in the South.#_--Here the town (township) does
not exist, except in a few instances. The unit of government for
performing local duties is the county, which is much larger than the New
England townships. The county government is managed by a Board of County
Commissioners. These are elected not in open meeting as are the town
officers, but by ballot. County government is therefore a representative
or republican government. The county, wherever found, is primarily a
judicial district. The chief officer for executing the decrees of the
county judiciary is the sheriff. Other county officers are the
treasurer, assessor, etc.
_#Local Government in the West.#_--Here, as before stated, we find the New
England and the Southern systems combined, but combined in different
States in such various degrees as to make impracticable any attempt to
describe them more particularly.[1] In consequence of the grants of land
by the Federal Government to Western States for education, local areas
for the administration of these funds have been formed. These are called
school districts. Local government has tended to center around these
districts, and they have in many cases become important administrative
districts. Their boundaries coincide with the boundaries of the
townships and counties, though a number of school districts may be in
one county or township.
[Footnote 1: More detailed accounts of the various systems of Local
Government in the United States may be found in the early numbers of the
_Johns Hopkins University Studies_, and also in Professor George E.
Howard's _Local Constitutional History_, an extra volume in the same
series.]