Our February Round Table met with Steve Kochersperger, the historian for the United States Postal Service. We discussed the evolution and logistics of the American mail system during the Revolutionary War era.
What follows is a short summary of our recorded discussions:
Early Colonial Mail and Logistics
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| Steve Kochersperger |
Postmasters in this era were typically not full-time employees; many were printers or tavern keepers. Printers specifically favored the role because it allowed them to access news from incoming mail before others and gave them a reliable way to distribute their newspapers.
Benjamin Franklin’s Leadership and Dismissal
Benjamin Franklin is credited with professionalizing the colonial mail system. Appointed as Philadelphia’s postmaster in 1737 and eventually Deputy Postmaster General for North America, he made the system profitable for the first time by 1760.
However, political tensions led to his downfall within the British system. Following the Hutchinson letters scandal and the Boston Tea Party, Franklin was dismissed from his royal position in 1774. He famously described his firing as being "too much of an American". Following his dismissal, the Continental Congress established its own postal line in July 1775, appointing Franklin as the first Postmaster General.
The Postal Service as a Tool of Revolution
The postal system was considered "critical infrastructure" for the burgeoning democracy. It played several vital roles:
- Intelligence and Espionage: Because royal postmasters routinely opened mail to spy on colonists, patriots often used private couriers and express riders (like Paul Revere) for sensitive correspondence. The British also intercepted patriot mail to publish embarrassing letters in newspapers.
- Information Distribution: To ensure an informed electorate, newspapers were often granted free or discounted passage through the mail, leading to high literacy rates in the colonies.
- Military Communication: The post office was essential for George Washington to communicate with his army, though the lack of a navy meant the Americans relied almost exclusively on land-based routes while the British controlled the water.
Key Figures and Challenges
The conversation highlights Ebenezer Hazard as the "real hero" of the wartime postal service. Serving as a postmaster for the army and later Postmaster General, Hazard personally traveled post roads to ensure efficiency while also preserving foundational historical documents that became the American State Papers.
The discussion also notes the contributions of women in the postal service, such as:
- Mary Katherine Goddard: The postmaster of Baltimore who printed the first version of the Declaration of Independence that included all the signatories' names.
- Anne Clay: A widow who managed the post in Newcastle, Delaware, while raising 15 children.
Structural Differences from Modern Mail
The colonial mail system differed significantly from today's service:
- No Stamps or Packages: Postage stamps were not introduced until the 1840s, and parcel post (items over four pounds) did not exist until 1913.
- No Street Addresses: Mail was typically held at the post office for pickup. Street addresses and home delivery did not become standard until the Civil War era.
- Shortages and Inflation: During the war, paper was in extremely short supply, and rampant inflation made it difficult to pay post riders.
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