Ben Franklin Appointed America’s First Postmaster General
As America waged war with the United Kingdom in the summer of 1775, the need arose for an independent mail service, not controlled by the British. On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established America’s first postal system and selected Benjamin Franklin as its first leader.
Franklin had a long history with mail service in the colonies and was an obvious choice. In 1753, he had been appointed deputy postmaster general of the American Colonies. He greatly improved the frequency and reliability of mail service. By 1761, the post office showed a profit for the first time. Under Franklin’s supervision, the Colonial post office continued to be profitable for several years. But he was dismissed from the office in 1774 due to his views on Britain’s “taxation without representation.”
When he was made America’s first postmaster general Franklin continued to revolutionize mail service in the colonies. He established routes between Florida and Maine as well as regular service to and from Britain. Franklin also arranged for overnight postal travel between the major cities of New York and Philadelphia. Additionally, Franklin set standardized rates based upon weight and distance that would remain in effect beyond his tenure. Though Franklin only held the office for a little over a year, his contributions were enormous and earned him the honor of being pictured on America’s first postage stamp – which is reproduced on this neat mint sheet.
Click here to add this sheet – and its history – to your collection.
Hi Don, I really like the “This Day in History,” feature on your website, along with all the other features. Great job.
Jerry Hallead
Forest Hills, Queens, New York City
I absolutely love and enjoy how your stamp co is blossoming out on the web! I used to buy stamps from your big catalogs in the 90’s cause I collected stamps for fun. I still have some of those old Mystic catalogs…..I did a search online since then, and well, to make a long story short….I follow stamps, stamp history, etc., online and I ‘collect’ stamps vicariously thru Pinterest. I have a “Stamps” board and a “Stamps of Other Countries” board. Anyway, Mystic stamps has been, is, and will continue to be a fun and very personally enjoyable site and resource for me. Sincere thanks for all you do and have done – for me , and many others, I’m sure.
I have started ‘collecting’ these beautiful pages relating to stamps and the occasions that inspired their release. I think you are doing a great service to new and older collectors with these historic pages. I do hope that you will continue them … without end … at least through 365 or 366 days, to cover all historic dates. This could possibly be a permanent feature of Mystic Stamps. I can’t think of a single reason that it would not be appreciated by the stamp-collecting public Thank you!.
Interesting book about how stamps played a roll in the making of the U.S. – “How the Post Office Created America” by Winifred Gallagher