From 1790 to 1860, the country’s population grew about eightfold, from 3.9 million to 31.4 million people. New territories and states, as well as established communities, pressed the Post Office Department for more routes and faster delivery. Its territory extended into the Midwest in 1787 through the Northwest Ordinance, reached down the Mississippi River and west to the Rocky Mountains after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and stretched to the Pacific coast by the 1840s. 7īetween 1789, when the federal government began operations, and 1861, when civil war broke out, the United States grew dramatically. In 1791, President George Washington declared: The importance of the post office and post roads on a plan sufficiently liberal and comprehensive, as they respect the expedition, safety, and facility of communication, is increased by their instrumentality in diffusing a knowledge of the laws and proceedings of the Government. Newspapers were the primary means of political communication and were delivered free through the mail for many years. The Founding Fathers viewed the mail system as vital to the political cohesion of our fledgling nation. To protect the Postal Service's public service mandate, Congress protected the postal monopoly over the carriage of letter-mail, retaining the Private Express Statutes in their entirety, including Section 1696: Whoever establishes any private express for the conveyance of letters or packets, or in any manner causes or provides for the conveyance of the same by regular trips or at stated periods over any post route which is or may be established by law … shall be fined … or imprisoned … or both. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. But the role of the Postal Service as a public servant – its core mission – did not change: The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. 4 In 1970, Congress transformed the Post Office Department into the United States Postal Service, a self-supporting establishment of the government with more authority over its own operations. In the past two centuries, Congress has held to this belief. Without such protection, Congress reckoned that private companies would siphon off high-profit delivery routes, leaving only money-losing routes to the Department, which then would be forced to rely on tax-payers to continue operations. To enable the Post Office Department to serve all Americans, no matter how remote, yet still finance its operations largely from its revenue, Congress gave the Department a monopoly over the carriage of letter-mail by a group of federal laws known as the Private Express Statutes. In 1913, the Post Office Department introduced Parcel Post – affordable parcel delivery available to all Americans that opened up a new world of mail order merchandise to many, especially in rural areas. To check for mail, city dwellers no longer had to wait in long lines at crowded Post Offices, and farmers no longer had to unhitch horse from plow and plod five or six miles into town. Later in the century, Congress introduced the convenience that most Americans now expect – free home delivery of mail, first in the city, then in the country. In the mid-1800s, Congress increased access to the mail by simplifying and lowering letter-postage rates. As directed by Congress, postal officials first extended the mail system geographically, adding mail routes and Post Offices to embrace communities up and down the coast and then westward, keeping pace with the traveling frontier. A healthy postal network facilitated communication among army commanders and the first elected representatives, and representatives and their constituents newspapers sent through the mail enabled Americans to participate in political life. Franklin and his fellow patriots saw a robust mail system as critical to the nation’s welfare. The story of the United States Postal Service begins in 1775, when the Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin the first American Postmaster General. 2 Surveys show that most Americans are pleased with the level of service provided. delivery network to the tune of two million addresses each year, the Postal Service has maintained and even improved service levels while keeping rising postage rates in line with inflation. 1 Even though increases in population size and decreases in household size enlarge the U.S. Through rain, sleet, and snow, Postal Service employees deliver more mail every delivery day, per capita, than most countries deliver in a month. The United States Postal Service is the one government agency that touches every American on a daily basis. Security controls for commercial mailers.
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