Postmasters general, kings of political patronage?
It鈥檚 a government job that鈥檚 older than the Declaration of Independence. It鈥檚 been filled by powerful and important people 鈥� including the cleverest of the Founding Fathers. It鈥檚 a post that鈥檚 been crucial to America鈥檚 identity and economic growth.
It鈥檚 the position of (cue Sousa march music) the United States postmaster general!
Come back here 鈥� don鈥檛 go wandering off toward the 鈥減ictures of the week鈥� page. Sure, you might think that running the Postal Service is sort of a downer today, given that it鈥檚 on track to lose $7 billion this year.
But before FedEx and e-mail, before proposals to can Saturday delivery and shut some post offices, the postmasters general were people of consequence. They were often among a president鈥檚 closest political and personal advisers.
They were even members of the cabinet 鈥� up there with the secretaries of State, Treasury, and so forth 鈥� for 142 years.
Why? Two reasons.
1. Prior to the invention of Twitter, the delivery of actual pieces of paper to your home or business was a very big deal.
2. The Postal Service was a huge job bank. Postmasters general were thus kings of political patronage 鈥� until civil service reforms ended 鈥╰hat.
Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster general. The Second Continental Congress appointed him to the position on July 25, 1775. (Alert readers will note that鈥檚 before the US was even a country.) He got that patronage thing rolling right away by appointing his son-in-law to be the new postal service鈥檚 comptroller.
Franklin also surveyed post roads and set up post offices and a simple accounting system, in essence founding the service, according to USPS official history.
Montgomery Blair was postmaster general in the Civil War, a hard-line Marylander and key member of Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 famous 鈥渢eam of rivals鈥� cabinet.
Blair pioneered delivery of mail to homes and offices by salaried postal carriers beginning in 1863.
Other notable postmasters general include James Farley, who was head of the Postal Service and the Democratic National Committee under FDR; and Larry O鈥橞rien, manager of JFK鈥檚 presidential campaign, who was appointed to the postal post by LBJ.
The fun ended in 1970, when Richard Nixon signed a reorganization act that set up the Postal Service as a semiautonomous entity and kicked the postmaster general out of the cabinet.
