"Vermont's rite of Spring reaffirms pure democracy." 

The following article, written by Grant Heilman in Vermont Life's spring issue during 1955, describes a small town meeting in Corinth, Vermont, in which the townspeople have gathered to vote on several issues relevant to their particular community. The article is idealistic, and describes the voting process as "the finest American tradition." 

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As can be seen in the photographs below, the voting population in Corinth, Vermont, was a white population. The "pure democracy" that this town meeting was said the exemplify was a "democracy" for whites. This article was written in 1955, two years before the Civil Rights Act of 1957, an act that fought for African-Americans' voting rights, was passed. The fight for the black vote was heated at this time, and for the article "Town Meeting Time" not to include some mentioning of voting rights makes it seem as though the author and greater magazine do not agree with the Civil Rights Movement's push for equal voting rights. 

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"The legal voters of Corinth..." 

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"The legal voters of Corinth are... notified to meet in the Town Hall... on Tuesday, March 2, 1954, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon." 

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This is how the article describes calling together the town to vote. It is possible that an African-American or other person/people of color lived in Corinth at this time. However, they were most not certainly considered to be "legal voters of Corinth" in 1954. Though seemingly harmless, this quote actively excludes certain populations from the so called "democratic process." 

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