Blog Post #4

 The United States Postal Service (USPS)

The United States Post Office is a significant invention. This communication network helped unit the colonies and win the American Revolution. It helped to create and serve democracy by creating an informed electorate and aided in building America into a global information and communication superpower.

It began in 1760 as The Committees of Correspondence when messages were sent in secret to dodge the British spies. In 1775 it became America’s very first government agency. It played an important role in helping establish our country because it made communication between the 13 colonies possible, helping unit them in the fight for freedom.

The office of the Postmaster General was established and the very first person to hold this office was Benjamin Franklin himself. This institution was created for the purpose of sharing messages and information such as news regarding American colonists wanting independence from the British crown. At first the Post Office was used mostly by businesses and the government because costs were high, however, in 1847 the first stamp became available. This made it affordable and possible for regular citizens to mail letters. The height of the Post Office was in 1901 when the United States had nearly 77,000 Post Offices nationwide. 

The Post Office has been in decline now for the century due in large part to new forms of communication. In the 1920’s telephones became more common in the average home, making it possible for people to call their families and friends rather than having to mail letters. Of course, the introduction of e-mail in the 1990’s had a similar effect in further declining the mailing of letters. Then competition from private carriers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL began to take some of the business of sending packages away from the Post Office. Further declines happened for more social and cultural reasons such as people wanting to go "
green" and pay bills paperless.

All of these declines, coupled with a recent pandemic and consumer price increases has lead the once mighty Post Office to a $6.9 billion financial loss in 2022. The very fate of the United States Post Office is now in jeopardy.