Status
Available
Publication
New York : Penguin Press, 2016.
Description
Discover 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 represented the government for most citizens. The post became 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. Gallagher traces its origins and leaders and describes its role in every major event in American history, from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Internet age.
User reviews
LibraryThing member mattries37315
It began before the Revolution and was required to be proved for by the Constitution itself, the Post Office. How the Post Office Created America: A History by Winifred Gallagher covers the three-century plus long history of delivering the mail in America.
Throughout Gallagher’s text she brought
How the Post Office Created America is a look at the long history of the post in the United States and how it shaped and was shaped by the nation. Winifred Gallagher brought a lot of information to the text to support her argument, while I personally came away with a different conclusion based on the same it was an intriguing read.
Throughout Gallagher’s text she brought
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forth evidence to support her argument yet save for helping foster the airline industry the Post Office appeared to have more of a symbiotic relationship with the country. Gallagher’s historical narrative begins early in the 1700s and ends approximately in the early 2010s, through this three-century period the ups and downs of the post in America were chronicles and how it interacted with the establishment of other forms of communication. The fascinating information that was brought forth were the crisis of the 1840s that changed the Post Office for the next century and the “golden age” from 1890-1920. Gallagher’s highlighting of various Postmasters General that headed the department that either innovated services or helped it in its time of need. The book also highlights the main efforts that some have attempted to privatize the post instead of being a public service and in the Afterward Gallagher explains the three scenarios of the now USPS could head in the future.How the Post Office Created America is a look at the long history of the post in the United States and how it shaped and was shaped by the nation. Winifred Gallagher brought a lot of information to the text to support her argument, while I personally came away with a different conclusion based on the same it was an intriguing read.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
I have read and enjoyed a host of history based theses and publish-or-perish, but this one was excruciatingly banal. Apparently done with meticulous research, but the presentation was so sleep inducing, even if presented as a lecture by Narrator Jack it would not keep the reader engaged. But if
Whoever chose the title was really reaching, but missed.
Received ebook copy free for review from NetGalley.
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points were to be given for the number of footnotes and references, it would be a winner.Whoever chose the title was really reaching, but missed.
Received ebook copy free for review from NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member etxgardener
The much maligned US Postal Service is a $68.9B per year enterprise that handles 40% of the world's mail and charges the world's lowest rates. Despite it's /efficiency(and if you doubt that fact, try getting a package delivered in France), the American public persists in in thinking of it as a
Winifred Gallagher traces the founding of the US postal service from colonial days to the present and shows how the institution was an integral prt of the growth and settlement of the country. In fact the post office was established before the Declaration of Independence was signed as the founders recognized the need for reliable communications between the colonies.
AFter independence was won, the post office was responsible for building roads for the mail to travel on. It also subsidized the railroads and early airline industry through it's contracts to carry the mail from one part of the country to another. It gave women and minorities meaningful employment opportunities before any other industry , and made the mail order business possible. At one point in the early 20th Century the US post office handled more mail than all the rest of the countries of the world combined!
Unfortunately, the service did not keep up with it's success, refusing to spend the necessary funds to modernize it's equipment and it's distribution methods until there was a massive system meltdown in the 1970's (what most people remember of the USPS even today). Congress has been the system's worst enemy saddling the service with unrealistic labor expenses and hampering the implementation of cost saving measures.
A the end of the book, the author shows how the postal service missed opportunity after opportunity to leverage the digital revolution to renewed success. And she outlines how the service could enhance the distribution of broadband services today to remain relevant to the country. It's hard to imagine any of her recommendations being implemented in today's political climate and that's too bad because the story of the post office is the story of a country that dared to do big things. It would be nice if we did so once again.
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lumbering dinosaur that is obsolete in today's world of electronic communications. Those holding that view should read this book.Winifred Gallagher traces the founding of the US postal service from colonial days to the present and shows how the institution was an integral prt of the growth and settlement of the country. In fact the post office was established before the Declaration of Independence was signed as the founders recognized the need for reliable communications between the colonies.
AFter independence was won, the post office was responsible for building roads for the mail to travel on. It also subsidized the railroads and early airline industry through it's contracts to carry the mail from one part of the country to another. It gave women and minorities meaningful employment opportunities before any other industry , and made the mail order business possible. At one point in the early 20th Century the US post office handled more mail than all the rest of the countries of the world combined!
Unfortunately, the service did not keep up with it's success, refusing to spend the necessary funds to modernize it's equipment and it's distribution methods until there was a massive system meltdown in the 1970's (what most people remember of the USPS even today). Congress has been the system's worst enemy saddling the service with unrealistic labor expenses and hampering the implementation of cost saving measures.
A the end of the book, the author shows how the postal service missed opportunity after opportunity to leverage the digital revolution to renewed success. And she outlines how the service could enhance the distribution of broadband services today to remain relevant to the country. It's hard to imagine any of her recommendations being implemented in today's political climate and that's too bad because the story of the post office is the story of a country that dared to do big things. It would be nice if we did so once again.
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LibraryThing member kcshankd
Purchased as gift for my former postmaster mother, 30+ year USPS employee. A solid history of the service, at times devolves into 'here are some anecdotes' for a few chapters, but forgivable. Narrative is hard.
LibraryThing member BruceCoulson
A light, but lively history of the postal service in America, from Colonial times when Ben Franklin ran things to now. Goes into the various crises that the Post Office has had in its history, along with the continual arguments on whether the Post Office should generate a profit...or is a public
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service that should be available to every American. It's clear which side the author supports, and they make a good case that the Post Office has been most successful when it expanded its service no matter the cost. And several industries, in what should be a familiar theme, rely on the public post to lower their operating costs. (FedEX and UPS in particular need the Post Office as a public utility.) Unfortunately, the Post Office as infrastructure was (and is) neglected by Washington, with predictable results. Show Less
LibraryThing member tgeorge2348
It is easy to just accept postal service as part of the foundation of US infrastructure, grumble when waiting in line for service to pick up a package or mail something requiring more than sticking on a stamp and dropping in the outgoing box. Winifred Gallager's book takes one back to the formation
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of the service, from the role it initially played gluing 13 disparate colonies into a new country, explains how it facilitated expansion of the country to it's current form and finally outlines some of the challenges it faces today in the face of electronic communication and other competing interests. It was particularly interesting to learn how some of the services that we just accept as normal--such as letter delivery in urban areas, came into existence--and the obstacles they had to overcome to be established. I highly recommend this book, and am now looking at today's USPS with more respect, but also the realization that as a citizen, we need to pay more attention to the next phases of evolution. Show Less
LibraryThing member fulner
I liked this book. I am surprised by how much I, an anti-government Libertarian, really appreciate the post office ever since taking a class on Stamp Collecting at Cub Scout camp. I miss having a PO Box when I was "forced" to go to the Post Office everyday to see the new stamps and what have you.
Gallagher does a fairly decent job walking us through the history of the animal that is the Government/Business of the USPS.
However from her writing it is very clear that she is a Northern Progressive with little respect for southern conservative folks. I doubt she even realizes that it comes across that way. She focuses a lot more on the first 150 years than the last 100, but she claims because there wasn't much to draw on.
I'm glad that the US didn't try to get the Post to run the Internet as she claims would have been the natural progression. I couldn't imagine the cluster.
Nothing to write-home about, pun intended, but interesting and worth the read regardless.
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Gallagher does a fairly decent job walking us through the history of the animal that is the Government/Business of the USPS.
However from her writing it is very clear that she is a Northern Progressive with little respect for southern conservative folks. I doubt she even realizes that it comes across that way. She focuses a lot more on the first 150 years than the last 100, but she claims because there wasn't much to draw on.
I'm glad that the US didn't try to get the Post to run the Internet as she claims would have been the natural progression. I couldn't imagine the cluster.
Nothing to write-home about, pun intended, but interesting and worth the read regardless.
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LibraryThing member bragan
This is a history of the United States Post Office, from its origins up through the present. (Or very nearly the present, anyway. The book was published in 2016, but, of course, more history is happening to the postal system even as we speak.) It does live up to its title, as it becomes very clear
It's all fairly interesting (and occasionally genuinely surprising) information, although I have to say that I found the writing rather dry in places, especially in the early chapters, to the extent that I occasionally realized I'd zoned out a little and had to go back and re-read the last few paragraphs to see what I'd missed. I also can't help the feeling that the author buys in a little too readily to the colonialist myth of America as a country heroically wrested from a savage wilderness, or at least isn't willing to cast the critical eye on the idea that it deserves when it comes up. Which it frequently does.
The last couple of chapters and the afterward, however, about the challenges and difficulties faced by the Postal Service in the last few decades and the uncertain prospects for its future -- complete with a succinct laying-out of the downsides of privatizing mail delivery -- are well-done and certainly feel very, very relevant at the moment.
Rating: I'm going to give this a slightly stingy 3.5/5, but I'd say that it is worth reading right now, more than that mildly lukewarm rating might indicate.
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through this history that that Post Office has had a massive hand in shaping the evolution of America, from providing those planning the American Revolution a network of communications not dependent on mail service administered by the British, to creating roads all across the country, to encouraging the development of railroad and aviation, to exerting subtle influences on the shape of society.It's all fairly interesting (and occasionally genuinely surprising) information, although I have to say that I found the writing rather dry in places, especially in the early chapters, to the extent that I occasionally realized I'd zoned out a little and had to go back and re-read the last few paragraphs to see what I'd missed. I also can't help the feeling that the author buys in a little too readily to the colonialist myth of America as a country heroically wrested from a savage wilderness, or at least isn't willing to cast the critical eye on the idea that it deserves when it comes up. Which it frequently does.
The last couple of chapters and the afterward, however, about the challenges and difficulties faced by the Postal Service in the last few decades and the uncertain prospects for its future -- complete with a succinct laying-out of the downsides of privatizing mail delivery -- are well-done and certainly feel very, very relevant at the moment.
Rating: I'm going to give this a slightly stingy 3.5/5, but I'd say that it is worth reading right now, more than that mildly lukewarm rating might indicate.
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LibraryThing member foof2you
A look at the history of the Post Office from its beginning to the present (2016). The history of the Post Office seems to always be very precarious. It never seems to be able to get the funding it needs, the cost of services do not cover the cost, Congress keeps interfering with it, and the Post
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Office also caused many of its problems. Show Less
LibraryThing member Katyefk
After reading this book I clearly see that the creation of the US Postal Service really did lead the development of the USA. What a great way to review the history of the US. I have always loved getting letters and packages in the mail. I can now see how important it was for all folks in the rural
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and urban areas over time to stay connected via the mail. It was their lifeblood many times. I see the post office evolving now days and we can only hope that the changes will be for the benefit of our country overall! Show Less
Language
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