leech daniel tompkins (7 Ergebnisse)

Zustand: New. In.

Zustand: New. In.

Zustand: New.

Gebunden. Zustand: New.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware.

8vo., (7 2/8 x 5 inches). Fine folding letterpress table at end. Original cream printed paper wrappers (backstrip worn with loss, corners creased). Provenance: with the ownership inscription of E.S. Tobey Jr., "Secretary to P[ost]-M[aster] December 29th 1879", of Boston, Mass. First edition, of an early history of the American Post Office Department. "No one in the Executive Departments ministers so effectively to the every-day wants of the people a he General Post Office. By opening channels of communication between widely separated communities, and by the rapid dissemination of information adapted to instruct the masses, it becomes a highly valuable instrumentality for advancing the public virtue and intelligence. Its influence in promoting the civilization of new settlements is only surpassed by that of the pulpit, the school-house, and the press, whose issues it circulates. Wherever the mail-carriers, with their instructive packets, make their appearance, law and order gradually supersede the rude customs and the violence of savage life" (Introductory Remarks page [5]). "For most of its history, the postal service was the nation's largest civilian institution and the federal government's most visible manifestation in Americans' everyday lives. Empowered by the Constitution to "establish Post Offices and post Roads," Congress created a communication network to unite the fragile young nation. Some of the first postal connections, for instance, linked county seats to state capitals and ultimately to Washington, D.C. The Post Office Department itself did not build many roads or operate many long-distance transports. But contracts with private carriers--stagecoach and steamship lines, railroads, trucking firms, and airlines--helped create a nationwide transportation system. Politics pervaded the Post Office through most of its history. From Andrew Jackson's administration until 1971, the postmaster general customarily served as the president's chief political lieutenant, some having previously headed the party's national committee. Postmasters general dispensed patronage--tens of thousands of local postmasterships and thousands of contracts--throughout the nation. Congress itself set postage rates, often arguing for years over a fraction of a cent for one category or another. Residents of rural areas, and their representatives in Congress, lobbied assiduously for special postal services to reduce their isolation. Rural free delivery (1896) was the most direct response, but postal savings banks (1911-1966) and parcel post (1913) also helped. Catalogued by Kate Hunter.