On this episode of Mailin’ It, take a step back in time with USPS Historian Jenny Lynch to learn about the early days of the U.S. Postal Service. We’ll talk about the role posts played in the American Revolution, how these events shaped the founders’ ideas about the way the U.S. Postal Service should support the new nation, and how those ideas are still present and relevant today.
In this episode, our hosts Yasmine and Dale chat with USPS Historian Jenny Lynch about how the U.S. Postal Service became America’s first communications network. Join us as we walk through the decades, from the 1692 introduction of a postal system in the American colonies, to the role posts played in the American Revolution, and the 1775 appointment of Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service we know today.
We’ll talk about the rising political tensions between the British and the colonies, and how the establishment of the U.S. Postal Service helped to preserve the freedoms we hold dear today.
To learn more about the history of the U.S. Postal Service, visit https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/
YASMINE: HI, I'M YASMINE DI GIULIO.
DALE: AND I'M DALE PARSAN. WE'RE YOUR HOSTS FOR MAILIN’ IT! THE OFFICIAL PODCAST OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.
YASMINE: AS YOU KNOW, MAILIN’ IT! IS FOCUSED ON EXPLORING THE ROLE OF THE US POSTAL SERVICE AND KEEPING US ALL CONNECTED THROUGHOUT THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. TODAY, WE'RE EXPLORING THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE POSTAL SERVICE, WHICH SERVED AS COLONIAL AMERICA'S FIRST COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
DALE: IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL TALK WITH US POSTAL SERVICES, HISTORIAN JENNY LYNCH ABOUT HOW IT ALL BEGAN.WE'LL COVER THE ROLE OF MAIL IN THE COLONIES BEFORE THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. THE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROLE POST PLAYED IN ENABLING COMMUNICATIONS DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND HOW THESE EVENTS SHAPED THE FOUNDER'S IDEAS OF HOW US POSTAL SERVICES SHOULD SUPPORT THE NEW NATION AND HOW THESE IDEAS ARE STILL VERY RELEVANT AND PRESENT TODAY.
YASMINE: IT'S A VERY COOL TOPIC. WELCOME, JENNY. I UNDERSTAND YOU'VE BEEN AT THE POSTAL SERVICE FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS.
JENNY: YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
YASMINE: CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK HERE AT THE POSTAL SERVICE?
JENNY: YEAH, I'M THE HISTORIAN AND I'M ALSO MANAGER OF THE CORPORATE LIBRARY HERE AT HEADQUARTERS.I HAVE A STAFF OF THREE, TWO RESEARCH ANALYST AND A LIBRARIAN AND WE RESEARCH AND RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION BOTH FROM THE PUBLIC AND POSTAL EMPLOYEES. WE PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO RESEARCHERS. WE PRESERVE AND PROVIDE ACCESS TO PUBLICATIONS. WE HAVE HISTORICAL RECORDS, FILES COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS. WE ALSO SHARE THE HISTORY OF THE POSTAL SERVICE, BOTH WITH EMPLOYEES AND INTERNALLY, AND ALSO WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
YASMINE: SO, JENNY, HOW DID YOU COME INTO SUCH AN INTERESTING ROLE?
JENNY: SO IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. IT WAS WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, I LEARNED THAT THE POSTAL SERVICE HEADQUARTERS HIRED COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR SUMMER JOBS. AND I NEEDED A JOB. IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT I WAS INTERVIEWED BY THE FIRST HISTORIAN RITA MORONI. I WORKED THAT SUMMER. I WORKED THE FOLLOWING SUMMER AND THEN AFTER I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE AND ONE THING THAT WAS FASCINATING TO ME WAS JUST YOU KNOW, HOW VAST POSTAL HISTORY IS A POSTAL SERVICE TOUCHES, ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF AMERICAN HISTORY. SO IT'S JUST, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BORED. I MEAN, THE HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, WOMEN, THE HISTORY OF WOMEN DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY. YEAH, IT'S INTERESTING AND I'M ALSO LIKE HELPING PEOPLE. SO A GOOD PART OF MY JOB IS RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND SOMETIMES IT'S VERY OBSCURE FACTS. AND I LIKE IT WHEN I CAN KIND OF MAKE SOMEBODY’S DAY.
DALE: JENNY, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE EXACTLY THE PERSON WHO WE SHOULD BE HAVING ON TODAY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. SO LET'S SET THE STAGE FOR OUR AUDIENCE. DURING THIS TIME; EARLY STATE OF THE COLONIES, WAS THERE A POSTAL SYSTEM IN THE COLONIES?
JENNY: YES, THERE WAS A POSTAL SYSTEM IN THE COLONIES BY THE 1690S, THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZED THAT THE LACK OF A CENTRAL POSTAL SYSTEM WAS HINDERING TRADE, BUYING, SELLING, AND BARTERING ALL REQUIRED BACK AND FORTH COMMUNICATION. AND IN ADDITION TO HELPING MERCHANTS, THERE WERE OTHER BENEFITS OF A REGULAR POSTAL SYSTEM. IT COULD CARRY PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE AND PUBLIC LETTERS, AND THAT HELPED MAINTAIN THE EMPIRE AND DEFEND IT FROM THREATS. AND THAT WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN TIMES OF WAR.
DALE: GREAT. SO A BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM, HOW DID THAT WORK WHERE THEIR LETTER CARRIERS LIKE WE KNOW TODAY?
JENNY: OH, THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN THE 1700S CONSISTED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF POST-MASTERS AND POST RIDERS AND POST RIDERS WHERE THOSE WHO TRANSPORTED MAIL ON HORSEBACK UNDER CONTRACT.IF YOU WANTED TO MAIL A LETTER, YOU TOOK IT TO THE POST OFFICE. AND THAT WAS THE GENERALLY LOCATED IN THE POST-MASTER'S HOME OR OTHER PLACE OF BUSINESS.THERE WERE NO POSTAGE STAMPS AND POSTAGE WAS USUALLY PAID BY THE ADDRESSEE. WHEN THE POST RIDER ARRIVED AT A POST OFFICE WITH A MAILBAG, THE POSTMASTER TOOK OUT ANY LETTERS FOR LOCAL DELIVERY AND THEN PUT OUTGOING LETTERS IN THE MAIL BAG, WHICH TRAVELED ON WITH THE POST RIDER TO THE NEXT POST OFFICE AND ON DOWN THE LINE. THEY WEREN'T STAMPS AND FOR THE MOST PART POSTAGE WAS PAID BY THE RECIPIENT, NOT THE SENDER.
YASMINE: OH, THAT'S INTERESTING. SO HOW BIG WAS THE POSTAL SYSTEM AT THAT TIME?
JENNY: BY TODAY'S STANDARDS, THE POSTAL NETWORK IN COLONIAL AMERICA WAS VERY SMALL. IN THE EARLY 1700S, ONLY ABOUT A DOZEN POST OFFICES OPERATED AND MOST OF THOSE WERE MOSTLY ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE TO DELAWARE. BUT BY THE END OF THE 1750S, THERE WERE ABOUT 30 POST OFFICES. AND BY THE 1770S THROUGH ABOUT 60 FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE TO VIRGINIA AND THEY WERE ALL LINKED BY WHAT WERE CALLED POST ROADS.
YASMINE: SO WHAT WE'RE POST ROADS?
JENNY: THOSE ARE JUST THE ROADS ALONG WHICH MAIL TRAVELED. AND IN SOME CASES THEY WEREN'T ROADS AS WE THINK OF THEM IN 18TH CENTURY, MANY POST ROADS WERE NO MORE THAN TRAILS THROUGH SWAMPS AND FORESTS. AND WE KNOW FROM TRAVEL ACCOUNTS FROM THE 1700S, JUST HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS. THERE WAS A JOURNAL KEPT BY A WOMAN, SARAH KNIGHT. SHE TRAVELED WITH POST RIDERS GOING FROM BOSTON TO, I THINK IT WAS NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT IN 1704. AND SO, SHE DESCRIBED IN HER JOURNAL JUST, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY SHE WAS SCARED FOR HER LIFE AT SEVERAL POINTS, JUST GOING ALONG THE REGULAR POST-ROUTE, CROSSING RIVERS WITH NO BRIDGES. THAT WAS A BIG ONE. AND THE POST RIDERS TRAVELED DAY AND NIGHT YOU KNOW, AND THROUGH BARELY MARKED TRAILS.
DALE: YOU KNOW, WE HAVE VERY FEW POST OFFICES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC, WE'VE GOT POSTAL RIDERS GOING ACROSS UNMARKED TRAILS. THIS DOESN'T GIVE ME A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN THE EARLY BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE. HOW POPULAR WAS IT, HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE USING THIS SYSTEM?
JENNY: SO NO, NOT MANY PEOPLE USE THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN THE COLONIAL ERA. IN ADDITION TO BEING, LIKE I SAID, GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED, NOT MANY POST OFFICES, POSTAGE RATES WERE PROHIBITIVE IN 1710, THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT PASSED QUEEN ANNE'S ACT. AND THAT SET POSTAGE RATES, ALMOST DOUBLED THEM FROM PREVIOUS TIME. HIGH POSTAGE RATES DISCOURAGED PEOPLE FROM USING THE SYSTEM, EVEN IF THEY COULD AFFORD TO. IN FACT, THERE'S AN ACCOUNT IN 1740 THOMAS HANCOCK, HE WAS A MERCHANT AND HE BECAME ONE OF THE RICHEST MEN IN BOSTON AND HE APOLOGIZED, WE HAVE A LETTER.HE WROTE APOLOGIZING TO THE GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT FOR ACCIDENTALLY MAILING TWO LETTERS THE PREVIOUS YEAR COSTING CONNECTICUT, THE COLONY, 10 SHILLINGS, SIX PENCE. AND THAT WAS VERSUS SENDING THEM FREE BY SHIP CAPTAIN.SO HE ESTIMATED NORMALLY BY AVOIDING USING THE MAIL, HE SAVED THE COLONY THREE POUNDS A YEAR.
YASMINE: WHAT WOULD THAT BE IN TODAY'S MONEY?
JENNY: THAT'S TRICKY TO CALCULATE, BUT AROUND $700 IS ONE ESTIMATE.
YASMINE: THAT IS QUITE A DIFFERENCE. SO YOU MENTIONED A QUEEN ANNE’S ACT, THE POST OFFICE ACT OF 1710. WERE THERE ANY OTHER PROVISIONS IN THAT ACT THAT AFFECTED THE MAIL SERVICE AND THE COLONIES?
JENNY: YEAH. I MEAN, ONE OTHER THING QUEEN ANNE’S ACT DID AND THAT DIDN'T JUST APPLY TO THE MAIL SERVICE IN THE COLONIES. IT WAS THE WHOLE BRITISH EMPIRE. SO IRELAND THE WEST INDIES, YOU KNOW, ALL OF NORTH AMERICA BUT IT ALSO AUTHORIZED SECRETARIES OF STATES TO ORDER THE OPENING OR DETENTION OF LETTERS.POSTMASTERS OR THEIR CLERKS COULD BE ORDER TO OPEN LETTERS, NOT ONLY TO PARTICULAR PEOPLE, BUT LIKE THEIR ASSOCIATES.AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT LATER ON WHEN POLITICAL TENSIONS RAN HIGH BETWEEN THE COLONIES AND GREAT BRITAIN. THAT WAS ANOTHER FACTOR THAT DISCOURAGED COLONISTS FROM USING THE BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM.
YASMINE: SO JENNY, YOU THINK YOU'RE STARTING TO ALLUDE TO SOME OF THIS COMING RIFT BETWEEN THE COLONIES IN GREAT BRITAIN. YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE POLITICAL TENSIONS ARE RUNNING HIGH. THAT GREAT BRITAIN IS INCREASING THE POSTAGE RATES AND READING PEOPLE'S MAIL. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE FEELINGS OF THE COLONIES AT THAT TIME ABOUT THESE CHANGES AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT?
JENNY: WELL ON THE ONE HAND, SOME COLONISTS CONSIDERED HIGH POSTAGE RATES TO BE SORT OF ATTACKS ON THE PEOPLE. WHICH THAT WAS LIKE SALT IN THE WOUNDS OF COLONISTS, WHO THEY WERE ALREADY IRRITATED BY WHAT THEY CONSIDERED TO BE UNJUST TAXES. BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY IN WHICH THE POSTAL SYSTEM WAS INVOLVED REALLY IN WIDENING THE RIFT BETWEEN THE COLONIES IN GREAT BRITAIN. AND THAT WAS BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH IT WASN'T PERFECT, YOU KNOW, AND MOST PEOPLE DIDN'T USE IT. THE POSTAL SYSTEM WAS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NEWSPAPER PRINTERS. AND PRINTERS THEY OFTEN DOUBLED AS THE TOWN'S POSTMASTER.THEY WERE THE FIRST TO RECEIVE NEWS.THEY WERE THE FIRST TO RECEIVE NEWSPAPERS FROM OTHER TOWNS. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING TO PICK UP THEIR MAIL, WHO MIGHT READ NEWS EVENTS FROM THEIR LETTERS. THAT HELPED THEM FILL THE PAGES OF THEIR OWN NEWSPAPERS. AND ALTHOUGH EARLY ON IN THE 1700, MOST PRINTERS TRIED TO REMAIN POLITICALLY NEUTRAL, MOSTLY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO ADVERTISE OR ALIENATE THEIR ADVERTISERS AND SUBSCRIBERS. THAT CHANGED AFTER 1763.
DALE: SO WHAT WAS THE BIG TRIGGER IN 1763?
JENNY: AFTER WINNING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR IN 1763, WHICH SECURED ITS TERRITORY IN AMERICA FROM THE FRENCH, THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT PASSED A SERIES OF LAWS THAT ALIENATED THE COLONIES.FIRST TO TRY TO HEAD OFF FUTURE WARS BY SETTING THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS AS THE COLONIES WESTERN BORDER.AND THAT WAS IRRITATING, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE COLONISTS WHO LIVED WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS ALREADY. BRITAIN ALSO BEGAN HEAVILY TAXING THE COLONISTS TO TRY TO HELP PAY DOWN ITS WAR DEBT. AND MOST OF THE COLONISTS DIDN'T LIKE THAT. ULTIMATELY IT WAS THAT TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION AS THE PATRIOTS CALLED IT, THAT LED TO POLITICAL SEPARATION. AT HEART, THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS AN IDEA OF WAR. BEFORE ANY SHOTS RANG OUT IT WAS A WAR OF PUBLIC OPINION, SHAPED BY DEBATES THAT WERE CONDUCTED FOR THE MOST PART IN PRINT AND THE MANY NEWSPAPERS AND BROADSIDES PAMPHLETS AND LETTERS THAT CIRCULATED THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES. AND THE POSTAL SYSTEM WAS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF THAT, THAT INFORMATION CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.SO EVEN THOUGH FOR THE MOST PART, THE BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM DIDN'T CONNECT INDIVIDUALS IN AMERICA, THE PATRIOTS USE THE SYSTEM TO CONNECT COMMUNITIES AND FRAME POLITICAL DEBATES, AND THAT HELPED SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION. THAT WAS UNTIL 1774 WHEN BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WAS FIRED FROM HIS JOB AS POSTMASTER GENERAL BY THE BRITISH AND THE PATRIOTS COULDN'T TRUST THE BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM ANYMORE.
DALE: WAIT, HOLD ON A SECOND.BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WAS THE POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE BRITISH POSTAL?
JENNY: YES, YES. BEFORE HE WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN POSTMASTER GENERAL, HE HELD THE JOB UNDER THE BRITISH, IN FACT, HE WORKED FOR THE BRITISH POST OFFICE FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS FIRST AS POSTMASTER PHILADELPHIA. AND THEN AND THEN AS POSTMASTER GENERAL FROM 1753.
YASMINE: WOW , THAT'S INTERESTING.SO HE WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS THE BRITISH COLONIAL POSTAL SYSTEM, AS WELL AS THE AMERICAN COLONIAL SYSTEM. SO WHAT IMPACT DID HE HAVE?
JENNY: HE HAD HUGE IMPACT.HE, IT WAS IN PART LARGE PART DUE TO HIM THAT THE BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM IN THE COLONIES WORKED AS WELL AS IT DID.HE, YOU KNOW, HE HAD A HEAD FOR BUSINESS AND HE WAS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN IMPROVING THE STATUS QUO. WHETHER IT WAS INVENTING A BETTER STOVE, YOU KNOW, STARTING UP A LIBRARY IN PHILADELPHIA. SO HE, AS POSTMASTER, WHEN HE WAS POSTMASTER IN PHILADELPHIA, HE WAS GIVEN ADDITIONAL DUTIES, THE DUTIES OF COMPTROLLER, WHICH WAS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO HAD SORT OF OVERSIGHT OVER FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AND PROCEDURES OF OTHER POST OFFICES. HE CREATED POST OFFICE ACCOUNTING FORMS SO THAT POSTMASTERS COULD KEEP DETAILED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS. WHICH THEN HE ASKED, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY'D BE SUBMITTED QUARTERLY.FRANKLIN ALSO SURVEYED POST ROUTES.I MEAN, HE LITERALLY WENT OUT ON A WAGON, YOU KNOW, WITH A HORSE AND WENT AROUND MEASURING DISTANCES TO JUST COME UP WITH MORE EFFICIENT, TO IMPROVE THE LINES OF TRAVEL.
DALE: SO IT SOUNDS LIKE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN COMING IN WITH A LOT OF EFFICIENCIES, A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS.SOUNDS LIKE HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.WHY WAS HE FIRED AS THE BRITISH POSTMASTER GENERAL?
JENNY: IN JANUARY, 1774, FRANKLIN WAS DISMISSED AS POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR THE CROWN, ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE HE WAS JUDGED TO BE TOO AMERICAN. SO THEY JUST, THEY STARTED DOUBTING HIS LOYALTY.
YASMINE: SO WHAT HAPPENED AFTER HIS DISMISSAL?
JENNY: SO AFTER HIS DISMISSAL, THE MONTH AFTER, HE SENT A LETTER FROM LONDON ADDRESS TO THE PRINTERS, BACK TO AMERICA. IT WAS PRINTED IN THE BOSTON GAZETTE. AND IN THAT LETTER, HE WARNED THAT SINCE HE WAS NO LONGER POSTMASTER GENERAL, FUTURE POSTMASTERS APPOINTED IN THE COLONIES WOULD LIKELY BE ENGLISHMAN. AND HE WARNED QUOTE “HOW SAFE THE CORRESPONDENCE OF COMMITTEES ALONG THE CONTINENT WILL BE THROUGH THE HANDS OF SUCH OFFICERS MAY NOW BE WORTH CONSIDERATION, ESPECIALLY AS THE POST-OFFICE ACT OF PARLIAMENT ALLOWS A POSTMASTER TO OPEN LETTERS IF WARRANTED SO TO DO BY THE ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE, AND EVERY PROVINCIAL SECRETARY MAY BE DEEMED AS SECRETARY OF STATE IN HIS PRIVATE PROVINCE // BEHOLD AMERICANS WHERE MATTERS ARE DRIVING.”
YASMINE: SO JENNY, WHAT DID THAT WARNING MEAN?
JENNY: WELL, HE WAS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE AMERICANS, THE PATRIOTS, THAT THEIR LETTERS WERE NO LONGER SAFE IN THE MAIL, IN THE USING THE BRITISH POSTAL SYSTEM. AND I THINK THAT FINAL BEHOLD AMERICANS WHERE MATTERS ARE DRIVING IS JUST A NOD TO THE FUTURE AND REALLY WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING YEARS LATER, YOU KNOW, THEY DECLARED INDEPENDENCE.
YASMINE: SO WAS HIS WARNING HEATED? WHAT WAS THE REACTION OF THE COLONISTS?
JENNY: WELL, THE COLONISTS WERE ALREADY WARY OF USING THE POSTAL SYSTEM. THAT SPRING, WILLIAM GODDARD OF PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPER PRINTER AND HIMSELF FORMER POSTMASTER PRESENTED HIS OWN PLAN FOR A, AS HE CALLED IT, CONSTITUTIONAL POST THAT WOULD BE INDEPENDENT OF THE BRITISH. SO HE TRAVELED AROUND THE COLONIES PROMOTING THAT PLAN AND SOME OF THE COLONIES STARTED ADOPTING IT. AND WHEN THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS MET IN SEPTEMBER 1774, GODDARD GAVE THEM A WARNING SIMILAR TO FRANKLINS. WE KNOW FROM BRITISH RECORDS THAT SOME SUPPORTERS OF THE COLONIAL OPPOSITION MOVEMENTS WERE UNDER POSTAL SURVEILLANCE BY THE END OF 1774. IN FACT, THE NEXT SUMMER, AS SOON AS NEWS OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD REACHED LONDON, THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT ORDERED THAT ALL LETTERS TO LONDON FROM THE COLONIES BE OPENED AND SCREENED.
DALE: LET'S FAST FORWARD A LITTLE BIT. SO IT'S 1775 WAR HAS BROKEN OUT IN NEW ENGLAND, IN THE BOSTON AREA. AND THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS IN ONE OF THEIR INITIAL ACTS ESTABLISHES THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES BY ESTABLISHING POSTAL OPERATIONS. WHAT WAS THE THINKING AT THIS POINT AND HOW DID THIS GET STARTED?
JENNY: IN MAY, 1775, THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS CONVENED IN PHILADELPHIA AND THE DELEGATES FURIOUSLY BEGAN PREPARING FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE COLONIES. THEY CREATED A CONTINENTAL ARMY WITH GEORGE WASHINGTON AT ITS HEAD.THEY ORDERED THE PRINTING OF MONEY, A CONTINENTAL CURRENCY TO FUND PREPARATIONS. THEY CREATED A DEPARTMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS TO PURSUE PEACE WITH THE INDIANS. FOR ONE THING, TO AVOID HAVING TO FIGHT A WAR ON MULTIPLE FRONTS. AND THEY ALSO, WITHIN THREE WEEKS OF CONVENING APPOINTED A COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER HOW BEST TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT POSTAL SYSTEM, WHICH THEY KNEW WOULD BE CRITICAL TO DEFENSE. MEANWHILE, THEY ALSO WROTE A PETITION TO THE BRITISH KING, AND AS THEY PUT IT, THEY QUOTE, BESIEGED HIM TO REVERSE HIS GOVERNMENT'S HARSH POLICIES.AND THAT WAS THEIR FINAL ATTEMPT TO PREVENT ALL-OUT WAR. THEY ALSO WROTE A LENGTHY MESSAGE TO THE INHABITANTS OF GREAT BRITAIN, EXPLAINING THEIR POSITION AND VIEW OF EVENTS. AND ALTHOUGH, I MEAN, BOTH OF THOSE MESSAGES WERE ADDRESSED TO GREAT BRITAIN. THEY WERE ALSO LIKELY AIMED AT THEIR OWN COUNTRYMEN BECAUSE AT THAT POINT, MANY COLONISTS WERE STILL EITHER UNDECIDED OR STILL LOYAL TO GREAT BRITAIN. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS VERY MUCH AN IDEA OF WAR AND AN ESSENTIAL VEHICLE IN THIS WAR OF IDEAS WAS AN INDEPENDENT POSTAL SYSTEM THAT COULD DELIVER INFORMATION AND DELIVER IT QUICKLY.
YASMINE: WITHOUT ANYBODY READING IT.
JENNY: RIGHT. SO ON JULY 26TH, 1775, WITHIN 24 HOURS OF THE POST OFFICE COMMITTEE SUBMITTING ITS REPORT TO CONGRESS, THE DELEGATES AGREED, “THAT A POSTMASTER GENERAL BE APPOINTED FOR THE UNITED COLONIES, WHO SHALL HOLD HIS OFFICE AT PHILADELPHIA // WITH POWER TO APPOINT SUCH, AND SO MANY, DEPUTIES AS TO HIM MAY SEEM PROPER AND NECESSARY. THAT A LINE OF POSTS BE APPOINTED, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL FROM FALMOUTH, NEW ENGLAND, TO SAVANNAH IN GEORGIA.”
YASMINE: SO WHO WAS THE FIRST POSTMASTER GENERAL?
JENNY: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, HE WAS THE UNANIMOUS SELECTION.
YASMINE: MOST QUALIFIED.
JENNY: AND WE TRACE THE ORIGINS OF OUR MODERN US POSTAL SERVICE TO THAT DAY, JULY 26TH, 1775, WHEN THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS APPOINTED BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AS THE FIRST POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE UNITED COLONIES.
YASMINE: SO MOVING FORWARD AFTER THEY'VE ESTABLISHED THIS POSTAL SYSTEM AND INSTALLED FRANKLIN AT THE NEW HEAD OF THIS POSTAL SYSTEM, HOW DID THEY USE IT DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR?
JENNY: DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR THE POSTAL SYSTEM MAINLY CARRIED COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN CONGRESS AND THE ARMIES IN THE FIELD. SEVERAL POINTS IN THE WAR CONGRESS AUTHORIZED EXPRESS RIDERS TO SPEED MESSAGES WHEN NECESSARY TO THE ARMIES WHEREVER THEY WERE LOCATED. CONGRESS ALSO SPED UP THE REGULAR POST RIDERS. THEY DIRECTED THAT POST RIDERS WOULD BE STAGED EVERY 25 TO 30 MILES ALONG THE POST ROADS, AND IMMEDIATELY CARRY THE MAIL ON THEIR STAGE THREE TIMES A WEEK, QUOTE BY NIGHT AND BY DAY WITHOUT STOPPING. AND WHEN THEY PASS THAT RESOLUTION, THEY EXPLAINED THE “COMMUNICATION OF INTELLIGENCE WITH FREQUENCY AND DISPATCH FROM ONE PART TO ANOTHER OF THIS EXTENSIVE CONTINENT IS ESSENTIALLY REQUISITE TO ITS SAFETY.”
YASMINE: SO, JENNY, I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT NEWSPAPERS HELPED SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION IN THE COLONIES BEFORE THE WAR, DID THEY CONTINUE TO PLAY A ROLE DURING THE WAR?
JENNY: THEY DID. AND THERE WERE DISRUPTIONS AND DISLOCATIONS, BUT NEWSPAPERS CONTINUED TO BE PRINTED DURING THE WAR. AND THEY REMAINED IMPORTANT TOOLS IN RALLYING PUBLIC OPINION AND CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THE WAR. AND ONE OF THE MOST QUOTED HISTORIANS OF THIS PERIOD IS DAVID RAMSEY. HE BOTH SERVED IN THE WAR AND WROTE A HISTORY OF IT. RAMSEY FAMOUSLY STATED “IN ESTABLISHING AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, THE PEN AND THE PRESS HAD MERIT EQUAL TO THAT, OF THE SWORD.” AND THE PEN AND THE PRESS AS RAMSEY PUT IT, WERE ONLY AS EFFECTIVE AS THE DELIVERY NETWORK. SO THE POSTAL SERVICE REALLY PLAYED AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN KEEPING PEOPLE INFORMED AND JUST IN RAISING THEIR MORALE.
YASMINE: SO JENNY 250 YEARS AGO, THE PRESS AND THE MEANS OF DISTRIBUTION WERE VERY TIGHTLY TIED TO LOCAL POSTS AND PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS. AND THEY WERE OFTEN THE ONES WHO CONTROLLED WHAT WAS DISSEMINATED TO THE PUBLIC. SO HOW DID THAT DYNAMIC AND THE MEANS OF CONTROL GET ADDRESSED BY THE FOUNDERS WHEN THEY WERE SORT OF ENVISIONING THEIR NEW NATION. AND HOW DID THAT SHAPE THE ROLE OF THE POST AT THE TIME?
JENNY: THE FOUNDERS SAW A FREE OPEN PRESS AS ESSENTIAL TO DEMOCRACY, AND THEY MADE SURE NOT ONLY TO PROTECT IT, BUT TO HELP IT FLOURISH. THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION, WHICH BECAME EFFECTIVE IN DECEMBER, 1791, GUARANTEED FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. AND JUST A COUPLE MONTHS LATER IN FEBRUARY, 1792, CONGRESS PASSED THE FIRST MAJOR POSTAL LAW. AND THAT PROVIDED FOR CARRIAGE OF NEWSPAPERS AT ROCK BOTTOM RATES.IT ALSO ALLOWED PRINTERS TO SHARE NEWSPAPERS WITH EACH OTHER FOR FREE, WHICH FACILITATED SHARING NEWS. SO IN THAT WAY, THE FOUNDERS HELPED ENSURE NOT ONLY A FREE PRESS, BUT AN ACCESSIBLE PRESS. IN FACT, BY 1840, THE U.S. HAD MORE NEWSPAPERS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. AND IT WAS THAT EASY SHARING OF NEWS AND INFORMATION VIA THE POSTAL SERVICE THAT KEPT THE COUNTRY CONNECTED. EVEN AS THE COUNTRY'S BORDERS KEPT PUSHING WESTWARD. THE FOUNDERS ALSO HELPED ENSURE FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN ANOTHER WAY.THEIR ORIGINAL 1792 POSTAL LAW SET HEFTY PENALTIES FOR TAMPERING WITH OR STEALING MAIL UP TO AND INCLUDING DEAF.
YASMINE: OH, WOW. DO WE STILL HAVE THE DEATH PENALTY FOR MAIL THEFT?
JENNY: NO, THAT ENDED IN 1872.
YASMINE: SO ULTIMATELY, WE KNOW THE POSTAL SERVICE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE NATION PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN BINDING THE NATION TOGETHER, WHICH IS A ROLE THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. BUT NOW I THINK IT HAPPENS IN OBVIOUS WAYS IN TERMS OF ENABLING COMMERCE AND COMMUNICATION AND CONNECTING PEOPLE TOGETHER. CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF HOW THE PUBLIC MIGHT'VE SEEN THIS ROLE BACK IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE NATION AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OR GROWN SINCE THEN?
JENNY: SO ORIGINALLY IN THE U.S. THE POSTAL SERVICE WAS THE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. THE NUMBER OF POST OFFICES INCREASED FROM FEWER THAN 100 IN 1790 TO MORE THAN 10 THOUSAND IN 1833. AND IT KEPT CLIMBING AND POST ROADS THAT LARGELY CLUNG TO THE ATLANTIC COAST IN 1790 STRETCHED WEST, AS FAR AS ILLINOIS BY 1800 AND CROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER JUST A FEW YEARS LATER. POST OFFICES FOLLOWED THE FRONTIER. IN MOST PLACES THE LOCAL POSTMASTER WAS THE ONLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. AND EVEN TODAY, THE POSTAL SERVICE IS THE ONLY GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT TOUCHES ALMOST EVERY AMERICAN EVERY DAY.
YASMINE: VERY TRUE.
DALE: SO THE POSTAL SERVICE WE KNOW TODAY DEVELOPED OUT OF THIS CRUCIBLE OF THAT VERY IMPORTANT PERIOD, AND A LOT OF THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED TODAY ABOUT THE POSTAL SERVICE WERE ACTUALLY REALLY LIFE AND DEATH MATTERS AT THE START OF THE NATION. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SANCTITY OF THE MAIL, ENABLING FREE SPEECH, COMMERCE, BINDING THE NATION TOGETHER. THESE ARE A LOT OF PRINCIPLES THAT OUR NATION AND THE POSTAL SERVICE CAME TO STAND FOR FROM THIS PERIOD. I'D LOVE TO GET YOUR VIEWS ON SOME OF THESE.
JENNY: WELL, FOR ME, ONE IMPORTANT LESSON IS THAT OUR FOUNDERS CONSIDERED THE POSTAL SERVICE SO ESSENTIAL THAT IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SERVICES THEY CREATED. A YEAR BEFORE DECLARING INDEPENDENCE IN JULY, 1776, THEY CREATED OUR NATIONAL POSTAL SYSTEM. AND IT WAS CONSIDERED TO BE OF SUCH IMPORTANCE THAT THEY INCLUDED IT IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, TO MAKE SURE IT REMAINED UNDER CONGRESSIONAL CONTROL. OUR FOUNDERS BELIEVED OUR SURVIVAL AS DEMOCRACY DEPENDED ON THE FREE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION. SO IN 1804, THOMAS JEFFERSON WROTE QUOTE, “NO EXPERIMENT CAN BE MORE INTERESTING THAN THAT WE ARE NOW TRYING… THAT MAN MAY BE GOVERNED BY REASON AND TRUTH. OUR FIRST OBJECT SHOULD THEREFORE BE, TO LEAVE OPEN TO HIM ALL THE AVENUES TO TRUTH. THE MOST EFFECTUAL HITHERTO FOUND, IS THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.”
THE POSTAL SERVICE, OUR ORIGINAL INFORMATION NETWORK, PLAYED AN ESSENTIAL ROLE IN SEEKING AND ACHIEVING INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN. AND IT PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE TOO, IN UNITING US AND KEEPING US UNITED ONCE THE WAR WAS WON.
DALE: WITH EVERYTHING WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HAPPENING AT THIS TIME, AND THETRANSITION FROM BEING A COLONY TO BECOMING A NEW NATION, WHAT'S THE LESSON WE LEARNED FROM THOSE EVENTS AS WE MOVE TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE?
JENNY: ONE LESSON WE LEARNED WAS JUST THE, THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION. AND AT THAT POINT, THE POSTAL SERVICE WAS OUR MAIN FORM OF COMMUNICATION AMONG COLONIES. AND IT'S WHAT UNITED THE DIFFERENT COLONIES IN A COMMON CAUSE TO DECLARE THEMSELVES INDEPENDENT AND ULTIMATELY WIN INDEPENDENCE FROM BRITAIN. AND THEN WITH THE BILL OF RIGHTS, GUARANTEEING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, YOU NEEDED A STRONG POSTAL SYSTEM TO ENABLE THAT.AND YOU NEEDED A SECURE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING, YOU KNOW, THE IDEA OF THE SANCTITY OF THE MAIL THAT NO ONE CAN JUST OPEN YOUR LETTERS AND READ THEM. THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT.
YASMINE: SO, JENNY, WHAT IS MOST INTERESTING TO YOU ABOUT THIS PERIOD OF POSTAL HISTORY?
JENNY: TO ME, TWO THINGS STAND OUT. ONE, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. I'M FASCINATED BY HIM. HE TRULY WAS LARGER THAN LIFE. HE WAS SO ACCOMPLISHED AND SO IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING. AND ANOTHER THING THAT STANDS OUT TO ME READING ABOUT THIS PERIOD, I'M STRUCK BY HOW LITERATE THE POPULATION WAS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN JANUARY, 1776, THOMAS PAINE PUBLISHED THE PAMPHLET COMMON SENSE. AND IN IT, HE USED A VARIETY OF ARGUMENTS TO MAKE THE CASE FOR SEPARATION FROM GREAT BRITAIN. AND IT WAS A BEST SELLER. IT SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES AND IT HELPED CONVINCE THE COLONIES TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE LATER THAT JULY. WHAT I FOUND INTERESTING WAS A LOT OF HISTORIANS DESCRIBE COMMON SENSE AS BEING WRITTEN IN CLEAR PLAIN LANGUAGE. BUT WHEN I READ IT, I WAS STRUCK BY HOW SOPHISTICATED HIS ARGUMENTS WERE.
YASMINE: SO JENNY, IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, IN OUR CONVERSATION ABOUT SOME OF THIS VERY EARLY HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY AND OF THE POSTAL SERVICE, AT THAT TIME, THERE WAS A LOT OF REACTION TO THE BRITISH CONTROL, THE CROWN KIND OF CONTROLLING WHAT PEOPLE COULD DO AND IT REALLY SEEMS THAT THE COLONISTS REACTED AGAINST THAT CONTROL. IN THE EARLY FORMATION OF THE NATION, WHAT ROLE DO YOU SEE THE POSTAL SERVICE OR THE FORMATION OF A POSTAL SERVICE PLAYING?
JENNY: RIGHT. I THINK YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. IT WAS REBELLION. THEY WERE REBELLING AGAINST BRITISH CONTROL AND ASSERTING THEIR OWN INDEPENDENCE. AND, AND HAVING AN INDEPENDENT POSTAL SYSTEM, IT WAS CRUCIAL TO, TO MAINTAINING IT BECAUSE THEY JUST SPENT MANY, MANY LONG YEARS WINNING THEIR FREEDOM. KEEPING IT WAS NOT CERTAIN, THEY NEEDED THAT STRONG POSTAL SERVICE REALLY TO CONTINUE TO TIE THEM TOGETHER ONCE THE WAR WAS WON.SO YEAH, MOVING FORWARD IN THE CONSTITUTION, IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS, THEY MADE SURE TO PUT THE POSTAL SERVICE IN THERE TO KEEP IT STRONG.
DALE: JENNY. I FIND IT SO FASCINATING THAT SO MANY OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT THE POSTAL SERVICE WAS ORIGINALLY FOUNDED ON STILL RING TRUE TODAY.AND I COULDN'T THINK OF A BETTER CONVERSATION TO HAVE AROUND THE SUBJECT THAN THE ONE WE JUST HAD. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
JENNY: THANK YOU FOR THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME HERE TODAY.
YASMINE: TIME FOR DID YOU KNOW?
IN THIS SEGMENT, DALE AND I WILL COMPETE TO SEE WHO HAS THE MOST INTERESTING HISTORICAL OR CULTURAL FACT TO SHARE ABOUT THE POSTAL SERVICE. ALL RIGHT, DALE, ARE YOU READY, WHAT'S YOUR DID YOU KNOW? FOR THIS EPISODE?
DALE: ALL RIGHT, YASMIN, I GOT ONE PHRASE FOR YOU. ROCKET MAIL.IMAGINE YOU'RE LIVING IN THE DAWN OF THE SPACE AGE. THE COLD WAR HAS JUST PUSHED BEYOND THE ATMOSPHERE AND INTO OUTER SPACE. WHEN THE RUSSIANS LAUNCHED SPUTNIK IN 1957, ALL EYES WERE ON THE SPACE PROGRAM, ROCKETS AND MISSILES. BELIEVE IT OR NOT THE POSTMASTER GENERAL AT THE TIME, ARTHUR SUMMERFIELD TRIED TO BRING MAIL INTO THE SPACE AGE BY TESTING, WHETHER ROCKETS WOULD BE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO MOVE MAIL AROUND THE COUNTRY. IN 1959, MAIL WAS ACTUALLY PLACED ON ROCKETS AND SHOT FROM A SUBMARINE HUNDREDS OF MILES TO A NAVY BASE TO SEE WHETHER IT WAS FEASIBLE AND COST-EFFECTIVE. DISAPPOINTINGLY, THEY QUICKLY LEARNED IT WAS NEITHER AND ACTUALLY QUITE CRAZY. BUT THERE IS A GREAT QUOTE FROM POSTMASTER GENERAL SUMMERFIELD, “BEFORE MAN REACHED THE MOON, MAIL WILL BE DELIVERED WITHIN HOURS FROM NEW YORK TO CALIFORNIA, TO BRITAIN, TO INDIA OR AUSTRALIA BY GUIDED MISSILES. WE STAND ON THE THRESHOLD OF ROCKET MAIL.” THAT QUOTE DIDN’T AN AGE WELL, BUT WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE IDEA OF ROCKET MAIL IS THAT EVEN THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT GOT CAUGHT UP IN THE MANIA FOR ROCKETS. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY, BUT IT'S TRUE. THERE WAS A SUCH A THING AS ROCKET MAIL. ALL RIGHT. YASMINE, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
YASMINE: I LOVE IT. ALTHOUGH I BARELY BELIEVE IT. THE IDEA OF ROCKETS, MISSILES, TAKING THE MAIL WITH THEM, THAT'S FARFETCHED, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT FOR THAT ONE. MINE IS A LITTLE BIT MORE DOWN TO EARTH. I'LL START WITH A NAME AND A DATE. SAMUEL MITCHELL AND JANUARY 31ST, 2018. THAT WAS THE DAY SAMUEL MITCHELL RETIRED. HE WAS A POSTMASTER FOR MORE THAN 52 YEARS IN PHILO, OHIO. SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT POSTMASTER MITCHELL AND HIS RETIREMENT DATE?HE WAS ACTUALLY THE LAST POLITICALLY APPOINTED POSTMASTER IN THE UNITED STATES TO BE WORKING FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE.UP UNTIL 1970 POSTMASTERS WERE POLITICALLY APPOINTED. SO, WHEN A PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED FROM A DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTY, PART OF THE SPOILS OF WINNING WAS THE RIGHT TO GIVE POLITICAL SUPPORTERS JOBS AS POSTMASTERS.TO BETTER PROFESSIONALIZE THE ROLE, THEY GOT RID OF THIS PRACTICE WHEN THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT BECAME THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE IN THE 70S, SINCE THEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE TO BE TRAINED AND WORK THEIR WAY UP TO BEING POSTMASTER AND NOT JUST GET THE JOB BASED ON YOUR PARTY OR YOUR POLITICS. IT'S KIND OF AMAZING TO THINK THAT FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE COUNTRY, UP UNTIL 1970 THOUSANDS OF POSTMASTERS ACROSS AMERICA WERE ALL POLITICAL PATRONAGE JOBS. AND THE VERY LAST ONE WAS SAMUEL MITCHELL FROM PHILO OHIO. AND HE WAS APPOINTED BY LYNDON JOHNSON IN 1967 AND RETIRED JUST FOUR YEARS AGO IN 2018. SO THAT'S MY DID YOU KNOW?
DALE: WONDERFUL, GREAT BIT OF HISTORY. ARE WE CALLING THIS ONE A TIE OR DO I GET A NOD FOR ROCKET MAIL?
YASMINE: SLIGHT NOD, BUT I THOUGHT MINE WAS PRETTY INTERESTING TOO. ON THAT NOTE, WE'LL LEAVE IT THERE UNTIL THE NEXT EPISODE.
SO DALE WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS EPISODE?
DALE: GOSH, THE BACKGROUND OF THE POSTAL SERVICE JUST BLOWS ME AWAY. IT FEELS SO EASY TO TAKE THE POSTAL SERVICE AND WHAT IT PROVIDES TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR GRANTED. BUT THEN YOU REALIZE HOW UNIQUE OF AN IDEA IT WAS AT ITS INCEPTION.
YASMINE: AGREED. I ALSO FOUND THE LOGISTICS OF THE EARLY COLONIAL POSTAL SYSTEM TO BE PRETTY INTERESTING, WITH THE POST ROADS AND THE POST OFFICES LOCATED IN BUSINESSES. I ALSO CAN'T BELIEVE THE RECIPIENTS HAD TO PAY FOR THE POSTAGE. IT'S PRETTY NICE TO GET THE MAIL DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR HOUSE FOR FREE INSTEAD.
DALE: COULD NOT AGREE MORE. WELL EVERYONE, THAT WRAPS UP THIS EPISODE OF MAILIN’ IT! IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT POSTAL SERVICE HISTORY, YOU CAN VISIT THE POSTAL SERVICES WEBSITE HTTPS://ABOUT.USPS.COM/
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