The Post Office and the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation (our countries first written form of government) gave Congress the right and power to establish and regulate post offices from one state to another, and to exact postage on papers passing through the same as may be required to so to defray expenses of the post office.
The Postal Act of 1792 further defined the role of the Postal Service. Under the act, newspapers were allowed in the mails at low rates to promote the spread of information across the states. To ensure the sanctity and privacy of the mails, postal officials were forbidden to open any letters in their charge unless they were undeliverable. These provisions enlarged and strengthened the duties of the Post Office and unified the organization by providing rules and regulations for its development. One of which was the transportation of mail. Other than by railroad or steamboat, the delivery of mail would only be given to bidders who offered stagecoach services.
Postal headquarters were located in Philadelphia until 1800, and then later moved to Washington, D.C... Officials carried all postal records, furniture, and supplies from Philadelphia to D.C. in in two horse drawn wagons.
The Post Office and the President's Cabinet
In 1829, then President Andrew Jackson appointed William T. Barry of Kentucky to become the first Postmaster General within a President's Cabinet. However, the Department of the Post Office was not formally established as an executive department by Congress until June of 1872.
In 1830, an investigative and inspection branch of the Post Office was established and was led by P.S. Loughborough. Loughborough is known as first Chief Postal Inspector.
Up to 1845, mail was delivered by coach, railroad, or steamboat. This was abolished by Congress on March 3, 1845. This act provided that the Postmaster General will lease all contracts to the lowest bidder who gave sufficient guarantee of providing a faithful performance, without conditions, except to provide for the "celerity, certainty and security" of the transportation of mail. These bids became known as "celerity, certainty, and security bids" and were represented by three stars known as star routes.
Scandals
The Star Routescandals involved United States Post Office officials receiving bribes in exchange for awarding postal delivery contracts in the southern and western areas of the states. In 1872 and 1876, during President Grant's administration, an investigation into what is called the Star Route Frauds had been made. However, evidence in the investigation had been tainted by bribery and the investigation was temporarily shut down in 1876. A resurgence of the Star Route Frauds took place in 1878 under the Hayes Administration and continued into the Garfield Administration. Many of the major players involved were large contractors, US Representatives, and past Postmaster Generals.
Then in 1881, then President James A. Garfield led an investigation into the corruption of the Star Route Frauds. After Garfield's death by assassination, then Vice-President, turned President Chester A. Arthur continued the investigation. A trial then prosecution took place in 1882 finally shutting down the Star Route Frauds and its postal ring.
Although the Star Route Frauds were widespread, there were few that were convicted. As a result of public distrust over the frauds and death of President Garfield, the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 was implemented. This act is a federal law that stipulates that federal government jobs will be awarded on merit. The act provides for the selection of government employees by means of competitive exams. It also made it made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons.
Under President Theodore Roosevelt, allegations of widespread corruption in the U.S. Postal Service were made. An internal investigation in 1902 revealed many cases of bribery, blackmail, overcharging, and extortion. The press publicized the findings in 1903. This forced the President to appoint two special prosecutors who subsequently indicted 30 Post Office officials and private contractors.
In 1994 Congressional Post Office scandal referred to the discovery of corruption among various Post Office employees and members of the United States House of Representatives. Investigations took place from 1991 through 1995, and ended in the conviction of House Ways and Means Committee chairman, democrat Dan Rostenkowski.
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