The postal service has come a long way from being the most important service industry, to almost being obsolete due to emails, and the many ways people are able to communicate through the internet. In 1639 the very first post office was established in a Boston home of a man named Richard Fairbanks, this was also a tavern. Then on July 26, 1775, the US postal system was officially established. It has been an essential part of American society ever since. Because the us mail was the only official way to send money, harsh penalties were imposed on mail theft. First time offenders were punishable by a public whipping and a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Second offenders were subject to death. This was unchanged until 1872. Did you know the Postmaster General was once a semi-celebrity? His next position after postmaster general was U.S. Supreme court justice, he was also viewed as a serious presidential candidate.
The civil war help change the way we get our mails today. In early America everyone had to go to the post office to get their mails, this meant long wait in freezing, sunny, or rainy weather. A postal clerk in Ohio City is said to have come up with the free delivery system, when he saw so many women forced to wait in long lines at the post office, in hazardous weather conditions, fretting, since the only way to get news to their loved ones fighting in the war, was through the mail. His free delivery system was such a success that it quickly spread to other cities before becoming a national norm.
Even though mails get delivered to people’s homes, mail carriers were to hand it only to the recipients. This meant workers waited and waited or circled back repeatedly until their customer came home. On March 1, 1923, all U.S. homes had to have a mailbox or slot, this meant postal employees no longer had to worry about patrons, just their dogs. I felt it's important to share this article I read by Daryl Chen. https://www.rd.com/article/us-postal-service-facts/
The Postmaster General was once semi-celebrity and viewed as a serious presidential candidate?
ReplyDeleteA postal clerk in Ohio City came up with the free delivery system to prevent mail recipients forced to wait in long lines at the post office in hazardous weather conditions to get news to their loved ones fighting in the Civil War?
No mailbox or slot at each home until March 1, 1923 so postal employees had to wait and/or circle back repeatedly until the customer came home?
The United States Postal Office has come a long way indeed :-) Thank you for sharing these cool facts and the link to the article ^_^
I remember when I was a college student and hearing the phrase "information or control over the flow of information is power". Before the digitization of information and the instantaneous communication, mail is it!
Interesting facts
ReplyDeleteEven with email, I still find a mailbox fun to check.
ReplyDeleteI have the ultimate respect for USPS...it's really depressing to see the ways people are desperately trying to justify privatizing the postal system by purposely wrecking their finances.
ReplyDeleteThey've been a reliable, non-partisan service for a long time, and it's sad to see that crumbling.
The postal service is super important, it's crazy how much it's had to deal with cutbacks this past few years.
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed going to check the mail. Shout out to all the USPS workers.
ReplyDeleteThe USPS is a vital service to the nation. I've always had a small desire to work for them.
ReplyDeleteI think they have become more practical for businesses rather than individuals
ReplyDeleteWow this was an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI love the USPS! I wholeheartedly support them and still wonder if it would be a "career" path while i work on finishing my degree.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. Who would've thought that mail theft lead to 10 years of prison and death back then.
ReplyDeleteI never knew so much about the post office until now.
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