17891776 Club
Congress makes the postmaster general answer to Washington
A temporary act keeps the mail moving under the new Constitution, and gives the president say over who runs it.
The new federal government inherited a postal system built under the Articles of Confederation, and Congress moved quickly to keep it running under the new government. On September 22, 1789, the First Congress passed the Post Office Act, formally establishing the office of United States Postmaster General and placing it under the president's direction. The law was written to last only until Congress's next session, a placeholder meant to keep letters and news moving while lawmakers worked out something permanent. Four days later, Washington named Samuel Osgood of Massachusetts to the post…
