Download or read book How the Post Office Created America written by Winifred Gallagher and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-06-28 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterful history of a long underappreciated institution, How the Post Office Created America examines the surprising role of the postal service in our nation’s political, social, economic, and physical development. The founders established the post office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time, it was the U.S. government’s largest and most important endeavor—indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind thirteen quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen—a radical idea that appalled Europe’s great powers. America’s uniquely democratic post powerfully shaped its lively, argumentative culture of uncensored ideas and opinions and made it the world’s information and communications superpower with astonishing speed. Winifred Gallagher presents the history of the post office as America’s own story, told from a fresh perspective over more than two centuries. The mandate to deliver the mail—then “the media”—imposed the federal footprint on vast, often contested parts of the continent and transformed a wilderness into a social landscape of post roads and villages centered on post offices. The post was the catalyst of the nation’s transportation grid, from the stagecoach lines to the airlines, and the lifeline of the great migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It enabled America to shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy and to develop the publishing industry, the consumer culture, and the political party system. Still one of the country’s two major civilian employers, the post was the first to hire women, African Americans, and other minorities for positions in public life. Starved by two world wars and the Great Depression, confronted with the country’s increasingly anti-institutional mind-set, and struggling with its doubled mail volume, the post stumbled badly in the turbulent 1960s. Distracted by the ensuing modernization of its traditional services, however, it failed to transition from paper mail to email, which prescient observers saw as its logical next step. Now the post office is at a crossroads. Before deciding its future, Americans should understand what this grand yet overlooked institution has accomplished since 1775 and consider what it should and could contribute in the twenty-first century. Gallagher argues that now, more than ever before, the imperiled post office deserves this effort, because just as the founders anticipated, it created forward-looking, communication-oriented, idea-driven America.

Download or read book The History of the Post Office in British North America written by William Smith and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-09-15 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This incredible history presents a complete account of the origins and growth of the Canadian post. The writer discusses in detail the beginnings of postal service in former American colonies, communications in Canada before the conquest, the origins of the postal service in the Maritime provinces, the Canadian ocean mail service, and much more. A must-read for history enthusiasts.

Download or read book The Post Office in Ireland written by Stephen Ferguson and published by Merrion Press. This book was released on 2018-07-26 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first complete history of the Irish Post Office, an institution which has been at the heart of Irish life for over 300 years. It tells the story of how a small letter office grew into one of the greatest departments of State, influencing developments in areas of life which ranged from transport and communications to economics, technology and national identity. From the early days of postboys and packet ships to the introduction of the telegraph and telephone, the Post Office has played a vital role in communications, delivering mail to all parts of the island, maintaining precious links between Ireland and its emigrants, and representing, through the friendly face of a local postman or postmistress, an approachable facet of Government. Always a commercial enterprise as well as a public service, the Post Office has had to deal with the tensions that arise in that relationship and which today pose particularly serious challenges. At the heart of the book are the men and women whose fascinating stories and sympathetic characters have moulded the shape of the department and ensured its survival in the face of personal turmoil, rebellion and political intrigue. Drawing on much unpublished material, The Post Office in Ireland: An Illustrated History reveals an organisation that has been quietly influential in the development of Irish society and pays tribute to those who have faithfully served it. From letters and telegrams, to railways, radio and the GPO itself – this history of the Irish Post Office tells the story of our nation and its people in a unique and accessible way.

Download or read book The History of the British Post Office written by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The History of the British Post Office written by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2023-09-18 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'The History of the British Post Office' by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon, readers are taken on a comprehensive journey through the evolution of the British postal system. Hemmeon's writing is meticulous and detailed, providing readers with a deep understanding of the social and technological influences that shaped the postal service over time. The book is a valuable resource for those interested in British history, communication systems, and the impact of postal services on society. Hemmeon's scholarly approach to the topic makes this book an essential read for enthusiasts and academics alike. The inclusion of primary sources and historical anecdotes adds depth and authenticity to the narrative, making it a compelling and informative read. Hemmeon's expertise in the subject matter is evident throughout the book, making it a reliable reference for anyone studying the history of postal services. 'The History of the British Post Office' is a must-read for those looking to delve into the rich tapestry of British postal history.

Download or read book The History of the Post Office of British North America 1639 1870 written by William Smith and published by Cambridge, [England] : University Press. This book was released on 1920 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The History of the Post Office in British North America written by William Smith, Sir and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-04-12 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[...]HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA CHAPTER I Beginnings of postal service in former American colonies. Benjamin Franklin relates that when the news reached America in 1763 that peace had been concluded between England and France, he made preparations to visit Canada, for the purpose of extending to it the postal service of the North American colonies, and that the joy bells were still ringing when he left Philadelphia on his journey northward. Franklin has [...]".

Download or read book Masters of the Post written by Duncan Campbell-Smith and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2011-11-03 with total page 840 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The origins of the Post Office go back to the early years of the Tudor monarchy: Brian Tuke, a former King's Bailiff in Sandwich, was acknowledged as the first 'Master of the Posts' by Cardinal Wolsey in 1512, and went on to build up a network of 'postmasters' across England for Henry VIII. Over the following five hundred years the Royal Mail expanded to an unimaginable degree to become the largest employer in the country, and the face of the British state for most people in their everyday lives. But it also faced the demands of an increasingly commercial marketplace. With the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the possibility of privatising the Royal Mail has prompted passionate arguments - and has added immeasurably to the difficulties of running it. In charting the whole of this extraordinary story, Duncan Campbell-Smith recounts a series of remarkable tales, including how postal engineers built the first programmable computer for the wartime code-breakers of Bletchley Park and how the Royal Mail managed to successfully continue delivering post to the front lines during two world wars, but also how they failed to avert the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He brings to life many of the dominant personalities in the Royal Mail's history - from Rowland Hill, who imposed a uniform penny post and set the great Victorian expansion on its way, to Tony Benn who championed the modernisation of the service in the 1960s and Tom Jackson who led the postal workers' biggest union through fifteen frequently stormy years up to 1982. This is the first complete history of the Royal Mail up to the present day, based on its comprehensive archives, and including the first detailed account of the past half-century of Britain's postal history, made possible by privileged access to confidential records. Today's debate over the future of the Royal Mail is shown to be just the ;atest chapter in a centuries-old conflict between its roles raising revenue and serving the public. Will its employees remain, like Brian Tuke's postmasters, servants of the Crown? This book could hardly appear at a more timely moment.

Download or read book The Great Post Office Scandal written by Nick Wallis and published by Bath Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2021-11-18 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Post Office Scandal is the extraordinary story behind the recent ITV drama series Mr Bates vs The Post Office. This gripping page-turner recounts how thousands of subpostmasters were accused of theft and false accounting on the back of evidence from Horizon, the flawed computer system designed by Fujitsu, and how a group of them, led by Alan Bates, took their fight to the High Court. Their eventual victory in court vindicated their claims about the defects of the software and exposed the heavy handed attempts by the Post Office to suppress them. The book also chronicles how successive senior managers, business leaders, lawyers, civil servants and Government ministers, at best failed to expose the injustice or, even worse, sought to cover it up, resulting in one of the largest miscarriages of justice in UK history. The author, Nick Wallis, is a journalist and broadcaster who has been reporting on the scandal for over ten years and who acted as script consultant on Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the ITV drama that brought the affair into the national consciousness. As the public inquiry reaches its climax, and senior figures such as Paula Vennells come to be questioned, The Great Post Office Scandal reveals the full scale of what happened and will leave you enraged at how so many of our trusted institutions allowed the saga to go on for nearly a quarter of a century, shattering the lives of thousands of innocent people.

Download or read book Neither Snow Nor Rain written by Devin Leonard and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[The] book makes you care what happens to its main protagonist, the U.S. Postal Service itself. And, as such, it leaves you at the end in suspense.” —USA Today Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the United States Postal Service was the information network that bound far-flung Americans together, and yet, it is slowly vanishing. Critics say it is slow and archaic. Mail volume is down. The workforce is shrinking. Post offices are closing. In Neither Snow Nor Rain, journalist Devin Leonard tackles the fascinating, centuries-long history of the USPS, from the first letter carriers through Franklin’s days, when postmasters worked out of their homes and post roads cut new paths through the wilderness. Under Andrew Jackson, the post office was molded into a vast patronage machine, and by the 1870s, over seventy percent of federal employees were postal workers. As the country boomed, USPS aggressively developed new technology, from mobile post offices on railroads and airmail service to mechanical sorting machines and optical character readers. Neither Snow Nor Rain is a rich, multifaceted history, full of remarkable characters, from the stamp-collecting FDR, to the revolutionaries who challenged USPS’s monopoly on mail, to the renegade union members who brought the system—and the country—to a halt in the 1970s. “Delectably readable . . . Leonard’s account offers surprises on almost every other page . . . [and] delivers both the triumphs and travails with clarity, wit and heart.” —Chicago Tribune

Download or read book The History of the British Post Office written by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon and published by . This book was released on 2014-02-23 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hardcover reprint of the original 1912 edition - beautifully bound in brown cloth covers featuring titles stamped in gold, 8vo - 6x9". No adjustments have been made to the original text, giving readers the full antiquarian experience. for quality purposes, all text and images are printed as black and white. This item is printed on demand. Book Information: Hemmeon, Joseph Clarence. the History of the British Post Office. Indiana: Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012. Original Publishing: Hemmeon, Joseph Clarence. the History of the British Post Office, . Cambridge, Harvard University, 1912. Subject: Postal Service

Download or read book The History of the Post Office in British North America 1639 1870 written by William Smith and published by Hardpress Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Download or read book The Least of These written by Mark B. Roe and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2022-05-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lying at the very edge of the eighteenth-century city, behind high walls and forbidding gates, the Dublin Foundling Hospital was long viewed with horror and suspicion. Yet, following its closure, it seemed to have slipped from the city's memory. The Least of These uncovers the story of the Hospital, from its origins as a workhouse in 1703 during the Penal Laws to its demise in 1830. Its mission: to take in the children of poor Catholics and raise them as Protestants, loyal to king and empire. This was an institution where every infant was tattooed with an identification number, where thousands of children were fed opium and where, as with many foundling hospitals, the death toll was vast. But why did it endure for so long? And why did quite so many die? Based on original research, Mark B. Roe brings together eyewitness accounts, letters from desperate parents and individual life stories to finally bring the tragic story of Dublin's Foundling Hospital to light.

Download or read book HIST OF THE POST OFFICE IN BRI written by William 1859-1932 Smith and published by Wentworth Press. This book was released on 2016-08-26 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book How the Post Office Created America written by Winifred Gallagher and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-07-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “’The history of its Post Office is nothing less than the story of America,’ Ms. Gallagher’s opening sentence declares, and in this lively book she makes the case well.”—Wall Street Journal A masterful history of a long underappreciated institution, How the Post Office Created America examines the surprising role of the postal service in our nation’s political, social, economic, and physical development. The founders established the post office before they had even signed the Declaration of Independence, and for a very long time, it was the U.S. government’s largest and most important endeavor—indeed, it was the government for most citizens. This was no conventional mail network but the central nervous system of the new body politic, designed to bind thirteen quarrelsome colonies into the United States by delivering news about public affairs to every citizen—a radical idea that appalled Europe’s great powers. America’s uniquely democratic post powerfully shaped its lively, argumentative culture of uncensored ideas and opinions and made it the world’s information and communications superpower with astonishing speed. Winifred Gallagher presents the history of the post office as America’s own story, told from a fresh perspective over more than two centuries. The mandate to deliver the mail—then “the media”—imposed the federal footprint on vast, often contested parts of the continent and transformed a wilderness into a social landscape of post roads and villages centered on post offices. The post was the catalyst of the nation’s transportation grid, from the stagecoach lines to the airlines, and the lifeline of the great migration from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It enabled America to shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy and to develop the publishing industry, the consumer culture, and the political party system. Still one of the country’s two major civilian employers, the post was the first to hire women, African Americans, and other minorities for positions in public life. Starved by two world wars and the Great Depression, confronted with the country’s increasingly anti-institutional mind-set, and struggling with its doubled mail volume, the post stumbled badly in the turbulent 1960s. Distracted by the ensuing modernization of its traditional services, however, it failed to transition from paper mail to email, which prescient observers saw as its logical next step. Now the post office is at a crossroads. Before deciding its future, Americans should understand what this grand yet overlooked institution has accomplished since 1775 and consider what it should and could contribute in the twenty-first century. Gallagher argues that now, more than ever before, the imperiled post office deserves this effort, because just as the founders anticipated, it created forward-looking, communication-oriented, idea-driven America.

Download or read book The British Post Office from Its Beginnings to the End of 1925 written by Chapman Frederick Dendy Marshall and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postal history, postage stamps, John Palmer, Rowland Hill, William Mulready.

Download or read book The Post Office and Its Story written by Edward Bennett and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2019-12-19 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A great deal has been written about the General Post Office in newspapers and magazines, but the books on the subject are comparatively few. And these volumes are either exhaustive historical treatises, or more popularly written descriptions of Post Office life and work. However, these works carry us no farther than the eve of penny postage, while the other books were written too long ago to be a guide to the Post Office of today. It is within the last twenty years that the Department has made the most rapid strides in the extension of its activities. Thus, what the author is attempting to do is to tell the story of the Department, briefly in its early beginnings, more fully in its modern developments, and in such a way as to give the reader the impression that the Post Office is alive, that it is in close touch with the needs of the nation, and is in less danger of being strangled with red-tape methods than at any time of its existence.