The USPS is said to date back to 1775 when, during the Second Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. In 1792, the Post Office Department was founded under the Postal Service Act. The Postal Service Act was signed by George Washington and established the USPS as an independent agency of the federal government.
Today, the USPS is the third-largest civilian employer in the United States and is responsible for the delivery of millions of letters and parcels each day.
And yet, somehow, email is still prevalent…
The cost to ship early parcels via USPS was priced high for letters and cheaply for informative periodicals.
“James Madison and others saw how the post could support this fledgling democracy by informing the electorate, and in 1792 devised a Robin Hood scheme whereby high-priced postage for letters, then sent mostly by businessmen and lawyers, subsidized the delivery of cheap, uncensored newspapers. This policy helped spark America’s lively, disputatious political culture and made it a communications superpower with remarkable speed.” (Smithsonian)
Since then, the USPS has evolved to meet the changing needs of the public by offering various services such as Priority Mail, Express Mail, and Parcel Post. It also offers money orders and international mail services.
And still, we rely on email for so much.
Michael's Musings 