SKU: 16592077402

How the Post Office Created America: A History

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How the Post Office Created America: A History"'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

"'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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 07/04/2017
ISBN: 9780143130062
Pages: 336
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.80d
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SKU: 16592077402

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Lowell, US
★★★★★ 4
Has fit perfectly into my morning espresso
Color: Black&Silver
This seems to me to be an excellent small kitchen scale. I am new to the complexities of espresso making and have begun using this scale every morning to measure my dose and output. It is working just fine. Easy to operate, keep clean and store. I did not give it 5 stars because I have limited comparisons but I don’t expect and will not bother looking for anything better.
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D. Lakin
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Perfectly fits what I needed for my espresso habit!
Color: Black&Silver
This Maestri House mini coffee scale is a great little tool for espresso and pour-over. The size is compact enough to fit under a portafilter or cup, and the 0.1g accuracy makes dialing in coffee much easier. I like the built-in timer, rechargeable USB-C battery, and clean black-and-silver look. It feels precise, practical, and easy to keep near the espresso machine. Great value for anyone who wants more consistent coffee.
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I have begun to drink tea, pu’erh tea to be specific. I have several varieties and I have had a problem with getting consistent results. The varieties can be very different in size depending on when the leaves are harvested (leaves harvested in spring are much smaller). So the easiest way to get consistent results is by weight. This scale is very easy to use with a ceramic tea scoop, set the tea scoop on the scale, zero it out and add tea leaves. This has made my results much better, without the wild swings in strength I had been getting before trying to eyeball even measures. This scale gives me accurate measurements to one tenth of a gram.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2026
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bicyclemayhem
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 4
Mostly great, except one little annoyance
Color: Black&Silver, Color: Black&Silver
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Fanny Chan
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Color: Beige, Color: Beige
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