Blog Post #4

 United States Postal Service

Today, the United States Postal Service is an agency a part of the executive branch of the United States government whose duty is to supply mail services to households and buildings in the US. The United States Postal Service was first established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin appointed as the first postmaster general. Benjamin Franklin had previously been the postmaster for Philadelphia where he showed his potential by improving delivery routes and cutting down on mail delivery time.

The initial primary purpose for why a general postal service was created for the 13 colonies was so that mail could get to the people in a quicker and more dependable way. With the United States Postal Service established, war correspondence was improved greatly for America. This continued into a ripple effect helping early America create a steady communication system. Having a service that was dependable and had a flat rate that all people could access became a core value for early America.

Not only did it help individual people and with war correspondence, but it also ensured that all the colonies were able to access the service and communicate with each other in a timely manner. This helped strengthen the colonies by staying up-to-date on what was happening and staying on the same page amongst one another. By having a safe and secure postal service system, the American people and the government were able to communicate between each other emphasizing a core American value.

The United States Postal Service changed our world and how we communicate drastically. One way this is shown is how it expanded postal roads giving all places access. This is still shown today and extremely important. The impacts of the postal service continue to shine through mail delivered to people in a quicker way. Additionally, the materials being distributed ranged from letters to reading materials such as newspapers, magazines, and government documents. With a larger population having access to reading materials, the American people became much more literate. Not only are the impacts prevalent in the education system, but also in the entertainment industry. With newspapers and magazines being widely distributed, print was able to be recognized as a form of entertainment. The last impact I will touch on is that the United States Postal Service had an influence on technological advancements. With an increasing demand for quicker speed, the idea of email was sparked in order to send and receive mail in a quicker way to people all around the world.

Initially, there were not any critical negative impacts associated with establishing the United States Postal Service. Instead, we are seeing problems arising more recently today with controversy surrounding whether or not it should be moved to the private sector. Economic downfalls have also impacted the postal service since they can not adjust their rates for how much they pay people or charge for mailing services. This amount must apply nationwide. An example of this is how mailing a letter across the street in North Carolina has the same cost for a stamp as it would mailing a letter to a remote area in Alaska. While we continue to wait and see what changes the postal service will make, if any, we must keep in mind that the core value of the United States Postal Service was, and continues to be, to connect the nation and we must not allow for this to be jeopardized in the future.