February 20: Postal Act Signed
On 20 February 1792, the Postal Act was signed by George Washington, paving the way for the United States postal service.
Congress planned to create a unique postal service, separate from its predecessor in England. Routes were planned and further laws passed to guarantee that postmen would be forbidden from opening the mail they delivered. Not only would Americans all over the country be getting their mail in a timely fashion, but they were also promised their mail was for their eyes only.
Mail isn’t just letters and bills. It’s everything from postcards, to magazine subscriptions, to big packages, and even weekly newspaper deliveries. Congress wanted to make sure that every American, in any state, had the ability to receive information. Congress correctly assumed that a well-informed American was a powerful American.
So, if the postal service wasn’t a thing until 1792, one has to wonder how people in America got their information prior to the American Revolution.
The American colonists had to rely on friends, merchants, and others to deliver letters for them. Each colony had an informal post office set up, but these informal post offices were just that: informal.
Even with Benjamin Franklin as Postmaster General, the colonists didn’t get much of any information at all. The English were quick to deem a well-informed colonist as a dangerous colonist. But, it was Ben Franklin’s recommendations that helped form America’s final postal service in 1792.
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–Jordan Gunn
Photo Caption: The first two postage stamps issued in the United States. 1847.
Jordon Gunn is a student at Schoolcraft College.
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