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History of the United States Postal Service

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Related Tags: postmaster | zip | usps | service | delivery
 

Instructions

Founding Father/Postmaster

  • Step 1:
    In 1775, the Continental Congress appoints Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general, making him and his agency, the United States Postal Office, the forerunner of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

The Constitution

  • Step 1:
    Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1787, empowers the government "to establish post offices and post roads." For many years, the postmaster general was a Cabinet member.

Horse-Powered Mail Delivery

  • Step 1:
    The Pony Express is founded in 1860, when it began delivery runs from Missouri to Sacramento, California. Although the Pony Express was started by Wells Fargo, the trademark now belongs to the U.S. Postal Service.

Down Home and Up in the Air

  • Step 1:
    1896 saw the implementation of free mail delivery in rural areas, while 1918 saw the beginning of the Postal Service's air mail runs.

The ZIP Code

  • Step 1:
    The ZIP code was introduced in 1963. Twenty years later, the Postal Service expanded it to the ZIP + 4 format.

Independence and Posterity

  • Step 1:
    In 1982, the USPS stopped accepting public subsidies and became a self-supporting agency. 1993 saw the opening of the National Postal Museum, located adjacent to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Resources

Photo/Video Credit

Wikimedia Commons

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