Washington Signs Postal Service Act

Context

In the decades before independence, colonial mail service operated under British royal authority, with routes surveyed from Maine to Florida and rates standardized by distance and weight. Benjamin Franklin, appointed joint postmaster general of the colonies in 1753, improved efficiency by establishing overnight travel between New York and Philadelphia and marking clear paths that later influenced major roads. His dismissal in 1774 for involvement in publishing private letters of Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson highlighted tensions over postal control and information flow.

During the Revolution, William Goddard presented a plan for an independent “Constitutional Post” to the Continental Congress in October 1774. Congress adopted the idea after Lexington and Concord, naming Franklin the first postmaster general under its authority in July 1775. The Articles of Confederation later granted Congress exclusive power to regulate inter-state post offices, a provision carried forward into the U.S. Constitution’s Article I, Section 8, which empowered Congress “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.”

Under the new federal government, Samuel Osgood served as the first postmaster general beginning in 1789 with only 75 post offices and roughly 2,400 miles of post roads. Timothy Pickering succeeded him in 1791 as the seat of government prepared to move from New York to Philadelphia, setting the stage for legislation that would place the department on firmer statutory footing.

What Happened

On November 29, 1791, Representative Samuel Livermore of New Hampshire introduced H.R. 154 in the House during the Second Congress. The bill moved through both chambers and reached President Washington, who signed it into law on February 20, 1792, while the government was seated in Philadelphia. The statute, titled “An Act to establish the Post Office and Post Roads within the United States,” formally renewed the Post Office Department as a cabinet-level agency under a postmaster general subject to congressional oversight.

Key provisions included subsidized rates for newspapers—set at one cent for distances up to 100 miles and one-and-a-half cents beyond—to ensure widespread circulation of information. Printers could exchange copies with one another free of charge. The law also prohibited postal officials from opening mail except when undeliverable, with penalties of up to six months imprisonment and a $300 fine. Congress received explicit authority to designate new post roads, enabling future expansion into western territories. Severe penalties, including the possibility of death, were prescribed for robbing mail carriers or stealing from post offices.

At the time of signing, Timothy Pickering held the postmaster general’s office. The legislation transformed an ad hoc arrangement inherited from the Confederation period into a structured federal service with clear rules and expansion mechanisms.

Aftermath

Pickering continued in the role until 1795, benefiting from the new statutory framework that granted broader administrative powers and clearer lines of authority. The number of post offices and miles of post roads grew steadily as Congress exercised its new power to designate routes, supporting communication across the expanding republic.

The subsidized newspaper rates quickly took effect, allowing publishers to reach subscribers at minimal cost and fostering a national exchange of news and opinion in the young republic.

Legacy

The 1792 Act established enduring principles of federal responsibility for postal infrastructure, press support, and mail privacy that shaped American communications for more than two centuries. Its emphasis on low-cost newspaper delivery contributed to high literacy rates and an informed electorate, while the privacy protections set an early precedent for safeguarding personal correspondence.

Later reforms, including the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 that created the independent U.S. Postal Service, built directly on the institutional foundation laid in 1792. Historians credit the law with helping knit together a geographically dispersed population and supporting economic integration during westward expansion.