US Mail Delivery History
According to the United States Postal Service (USPS), the government organization delivered more than 177 billion pieces of mail in 2009. On average, it processes 405,000 pieces every minute and handles 40 percent of the world's card and letter mail volume. Though USPS pays more than $2 billion every two weeks in salaries and benefits, it derives none of its funding from taxes.
Other People Are Reading
-
Colonial Mail System
-
In America's colonial days, there was no government-regulated mail delivery system. Mail was delivered largely based on trust and mutual deals. Merchants, slaves and Native Americans would hand off pieces of mail until it reached its final destination. Designated mail carriers later traveled via stagecoach or horse back for deliveries.
First U.S. Post Office
-
In 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the United States' first postmaster general, officially establishing the first U.S. Post Office. The colonies were fighting for independence in the Revolutionary War at the time, and it became obvious information and intelligence needed to circulate quickly, reliably and with accountability if the colonists were going to win against the more experienced and better funded British army.
-
Using Technology to Deliver Mail
-
From its inception, the U.S. Post Office sought technology to deliver mail quickly and reliably. The government office built steamboats to perform double duty--to carry both mail and supplies to settlers up the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The Post Office also invested in railroad technology to deliver its precious cargo, and in 1911, the government's mail system used flight for the first time. A daily air route began over Long Island that year, dropping bags from the air, where a local postmaster picked them up for delivery.
Pony Express
-
The Pony Express began in 1860. It was a mail delivery system that used more than 400 horses and horseback couriers to relay mail quickly over long distances. In 10 days, riders of the Pony Express could transport mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California--a historic feat. Due to the overwhelming costs of the complicated operation, however, the Pony Express shut down just 18 months after it began.
The USPS in 2010
-
In March of 2010, Postmaster General John Potter announced the USPS was initiating major cutbacks due primarily to a decrease in mail. An estimated $238 billion loss was projected from 2010 to 2020, forcing the possible cessation of certain services like weekend delivery. Technological innovations present intense competition for the USPS. E-mail is faster, easier and free, for instance, and four-fifths of homes pay bills online as of 2010, a process that used to be largely handled by the government organization. In 2009 alone, the USPS witnessed a 13 percent drop in volume.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit mail box image by Joelyn Pullano from Fotolia.com
