With the cost of mailing a letter between Baltimore, Maryland and New York City at almost 18 Cents—more than a quarter of a day’s wages—Lysander Spooner, a Boston, Massachusetts attorney and slavery abolitionist, writes to Charles A. Wickliffe, Postmaster General of the united States, notifying him of his intentions to establish the American Letter Mail Company, using private business travelers to transport the mail at a cost of only five Cents: “I propose soon to establish a letter mail from Boston to Baltimore. I shall myself remain in this city, where I shall be ready at any time to answer any suit.”
[added 9/12/2026] Thanks to Freedoms Phoenix for this entry.
Subsequent Events:
3/3/1845
Authority:
Article I, Section 8 [Clause 7]
ccc-2point0.com/constitution-for-the-united-states
References:
Meet the Anarchist Who Single-Handedly Fought the US Post Office – Foundation for Economic Education
fee.org/articles/lysander-spooner-the-anarchist-who-single-handedly-took-on-the-us-post-office/
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