The US Postal Servise

 This week, my professor tasked us with creating a group project about certain inventions that help revolutionize communication. I was tasked with looking into the US Postal Service. The story behind it is quite fascinating; for example, when I was doing my previous research, I quickly learned that Bengamen Franklyn had a hand in the creation of the postal service. In fact, at one time, he was in charge of the whole thing, of course, until grumpy King George ordered him fired from the position because of his anti-Crown opinions. This is just one of the many tidbits I hope to explain in this blog post.

 

  The Postal Service went into operation in 1775 when Congress voted for its creation. They also reinstated Benginme Franklyn as post-master general, and he quickly took charge again. Later, in 1787, the Constitution gave Congress the power to establish a post office, which they did in 1789, officially making the post service a government body. Many years later, during the Civil War, the post office was brought into controversy. The Post Master General was not a merit-based position but was a political-based one instead. Depending on who the president was, the position could change at will. This, of course, made the postal service a little unstable and inconsistent with the policy. For example, if a pro-slavery president was in charge, they could bring in a postmaster general who would censor anti-slavery mail. In the South, it was not uncommon to see people raid mail stations and burn all the anti-slavery mail. Once the Civil War started rolling, the post-service was vital for the Union to maintain communication between Union troops, high command, and their families. It is truly remarkable how they operate during war times, especially in grander conflicts like the world wars. I digress

Zooming to the 1960s, the first Zip Codes were created. These five-digit numbers helped organize where all the mail was coming from and needed to go. Funny enough, some people in the public sphere felt this was a communist play to turn the American people into nothing more than mere

numbers, but this never went anywhere. The government, however, was concerned that communist sympathizers were using the mail to communicate. This created a free speech issue. In the Postal Service and Federal Employees Salary Act of 1962, Congress mandated that post offices must retain any materials from foreign communist sources and only release them upon a direct request from the recipient. The Supreme Court eventually would deem this act unconstitutional and strike it down.

Today, the Postal Service has a pivotal role in our democracy with the population of mail-in ballots. This became a very popular option during covid and it seems it's here to stay. I have my reservations about it, but I can definitely see the attraction to it. It's just convenient and for those who may not have cars or the means to travel to the voting booth it is a great way to have a say in our government,

These were just some interesting tidbits I found while researching. I am still surprised that Benjamin Franklin had such a prevalent role in it. I thought that was such an important fact, along with everything else I learned. Of course, this is so much in what goes into the US post service, and I encourage you all to do some research into it!