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37. Postal Services
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502 Postal System Before the introduction of the telegraph, long-distance communication to and from places like Jefferson was restricted to the mails, which carried business and personal correspondence. Postal services were one of the primary means by which the extraordinary isolation of a dispersed population over a large continent was mollified. Postal services from the outset were a federal monopoly, but otherwise bore little resemblance to the postal services of today. There were no free-standing public buildings that served as post offices, there was no home or business delivery, postal workers were not federal employees, mail was transported to and from towns through a contracting system with private carriers, postal charges were paid by the receiver rather than the sender until 1855, and stamps were not mandated until January 1856. As a public agency intended primarily to bind the nation through the diffusion of knowledge, the postal system almost automatically gave rise to subsidies. The primary subsidy was from the North to the South and West. The North had sufficient population masses and attendant correspondence needs to support a postal system. The South and West did not. Nevertheless, new towns like Jefferson demanded and received postal services even if there was insufficient business to cover costs. The first post office was established in Jefferson in May 1846, only one year after the town had come into existence and its population was minuscule. 37. Postal services 503 Postal Services The other modes of subsidy were in the dissemination of federal political materials and the promotion of newspapers. Newspapers were dependent on the mails, by which they received other newspapers from which they drew most of their information and by which they sent their products to their customers. Low postal rates were instrumental in the proliferation and survival of early newspapers. Weekly newspapers were granted free distribution in their county of publication in 1851. It is not surprising, then, that the bulk of early mail was constituted by political materials and newspapers rather than by personal and business correspondence. As a nonprofit enterprise, the early national postal system was often in deficit. The bulk of the costs was borne by personal and business correspondence, for which charges were high. The cost of mail was determined by number of pages and distance sent, which is why most early letters were written in cramped styles fully on both sides of the page and are often difficult to read. Sectional imbalances gave rise to widespread illegal carriage of mail in the northeast in the 1840s. High costs also produced illegal carriage in the South, and the personal transmission of letters by steamboat captains and clerks appears to be one of the important means by which they ingratiated themselves to the public. Postmasters Postmasters were not federal employees. The federal Civil Service was not established until 1873, and postmasters were not covered until well into the next century. Postmasters were political appointees and part of the patronage system that governed most public appointments . They owed their jobs to their congressmen and lost their jobs when party power changed in Washington. This is one of the reasons why there was rapid changeover of postmasters in towns like Jefferson . Postmasters were paid a percentage of receipts. A salary system was introduced in July 1864, but this was based on the previous two years of income, with salaries adjusted every two years. For a modest town like Jefferson, this must have been a fairly low-paying position that was desirable because of the added income, business opportunity, and prestige that it provided. [3.84.7.255] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:47 GMT) 504 Antebellum Jefferson, Texas Prestige came from the fact that the postmaster was usually the only person in town with a direct relation with the national government . As political appointees, postmasters were generally heavily involved in politics, serving as agents for their sponsors and as officers and members of various local organizations. The post office was a center of political activity at the local level, at least for members of the reigning party. Postmasters knew everyone in town and a lot about their affairs through the monitoring of correspondence. The following is a list of Jefferson’s postmasters from 1846 through 1860 and their dates of appointment: William Bishop May 22, 1846 Berry Durham January 26, 1847 William Bishop June 15, 1847 Perry Graham February 26, 1849 George Crump May 2, 1849 Caleb Ragan December 31, 1849 John Waskom August 4, 1851 Stephen...