If you watched Seinfeld, the popular sitcom in the 90s, you’ll remember what Newman had to say about the US Postal Service. Yes, the mail never stops coming in. The U.S Postal Service has indeed come a long way since the government created the Post Office department (although being an independent agency) with Benjamin Franklin as its first Postmaster General in 1775, a position that was automatically guaranteed its holder a position as one of the member of Cabinet. This department was created based on the vision that George Washington had, in dreaming of a country which was connected by postal roads and office, facilitating the free flow of information (in the form of newspapers) at low costs.
The Postal Act of 1792 further established clear guidelines that the Post Office or its officials were not allowed to open any letter unless they were undeliverable, which was clearly to protect the privacy of its citizens.
With the realization that mail has to be delivered to all parts of the country, the Post Office used steamboats to carry mail to towns which had no roads, and with the development of the railroads the Postal Service switched to using this method of transportation from 1832 on one line in Pennsylvania.
Another method of transportation was adopted in 1918, which involved taking over air mail service from the US Army Air Service, and by the year 1920 had delivered 49 million letters using this method.
With the Postal Reorganization Act in 1970, the Post Office became an independent government organization, and even till this day has the distinction of being the second-largest civilian employer after Walmart, employing 656000 workers working in 32, 741 locations in the United States delivering 660 million letters every day.
No wonder the mail never stops.
