The U.S. Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States
US Postal Services
Whenever anyone gets something put into their mailboxes, it’s usually put in there by a mail carrier. It’s been this way since the days of Benjamin Franklin, and it continues to this day. So, who do these mail carriers work for, and how do their jobs work?
The mail carriers delivering mail to houses work for the US Postal Services. From delivering mail on horses to using the internet, here’s the history of the US Postal Services and how it operates.
History of the US Postal Services
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, oversaw Britain’s colonial mail service and improved a simple courier system that connected the 13 colonies into an organization. This organization would speed deliveries between Philadelphia and New York to a shorter 33 hours.
This was Franklin’s vision for a thriving new nation independent of Britain. By the early 1770s, fellow patriots had created underground networks– the Committee of Correspondence and the Constitutional Post. These networks let the founders talk of treason under the British radar.
One year before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress transformed the Constitutional Post into the Post Office of the United States, which was the new government’s first and most consequential function. That was the same year Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General.
The post office was a terrific way to support the then-new democracy and inform the electorate. In 1792, James Madison hatched a Robin Hood scheme with high-priced letter postage, sent mainly by businessmen and lawyers, to finance cheap, uncensored newspaper delivery.
This sparked America’s political culture and made the post a communications superpower. By 1831, the United States boasted twice the amount of post offices in Britain and five times as many as France.
In 1847, US postage stamps were issued. Two years before, New York City Postmaster Robert Morris provided unique stamps to mark postage prepayment. By 1856, mailers had to prepay postage via stamps.
The Pony Express began in 1860 when railroads went as far west as Missouri. This express had mounted carriers sped mail from Joplin, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in just 10 days. 36 years later, in 1896, free rural delivery began, delivering mail further from cities.
How the US Postal Services Works
There have been plenty of ways that the US Postal Services has operated, from underground expresses to horses. However, times have changed, and it’s time to see how the US Postal Services works today.
Postal service employees sell postal products in buildings and on the website (launched in 1994). They also collect, sort, and deliver mail to various addresses and zip codes (established in 1963). Mail carriers deliver to addresses once a day (established in 1950).
Postal clerks, mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators work indoors. Mail carriers, however, work outdoors.
To become a postal service worker, one will need a high school diploma but no work experience. On-the-job training is short-term. As of May 2021, the medium pay is $51,730 per year and $24.87 per hour.
The US Postal Services has had an extensive and exciting history to get to where it is today. That’s why it’s essential to respect the postal workers who handle everyone’s mail.
Sources:
https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/significant-dates.htm
https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/stamps-postcards.htm
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/postal-service-workers.htm
