How the Post Office Created AMerica
Winifred Gallagher
Review ★★★★☆
This book is masterfully written by an author who has raked the repositories of history inn order to create this gem. The work follows the history of the United States Postal Service going back to the infancy of the nation.
The narrative driven by the author handily illustrates the importance of the USPS through the past, present, and future. The author highlights various perspectives on the role of the post throughout various eras of American history. This selection makes an excellent read for American history buffs, philatelists, or anyone seeking to understand the present and future of the post through a polical and historical lens.
Notable Quotes
"The post was essential to this experimental new union. Other than conducting foreign affairs, the federal government's power was minimal at best and, within the prickly new states, so volatile an issue that it had jeopardized the signing of the Constitution. Indeed, until the Civil War officially settled the matter, many Americans would say 'the United States are' rather than 'is.' (For the same reason, many modern historians prefer to speak of the 'union' or 'republic' rather than the 'nation' when referring to the country during the antebellum era, on the grounds that although America was a state, a self-governing political entity, it was not yet a nation, a tightly knit people who embrace a common culture.)" (29-30)