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Thomas Jefferson Signed Act of Congress Extending Temporary Post Office |
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“the act passed the last session of Congress, intituled ‘An act for the temporary establishment of the post-office,’ be, and the same hereby is continued in force until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
Printed Document Signed, as Secretary of State,
“An Act to continue in force for a limited time, an Act, intituled ‘An Act for the temporary Establishment of the Post Office,’” New York, August 4, 1790. 1 p., 9½ x 15⅛ in. 8/4/1790.
Inventory #26264.99
Price: $27,500
Historical Background
The Second Continental Congress founded the United States Post Office in July 1775, it was not yet organized into a department within the Executive branch of the federal government. On September 22, 1789, the first federal Congress provided for the temporary establishment of a general post office and the appointment of a Postmaster General subject to the direction of the President. The duties, salaries, and regulations of the Department remained the same as those under the Congress of the Confederation. Samuel Osgood served as the first Postmaster General under the Constitution from September 1789 until the government moved to Philadelphia in August 1791, followed by Timothy Pickering from August 1791 to February 1795.
Congress passed the Post Office Act in February 1792 to establish the new federal postal system. Among the most important provisions of the new system were admitting newspapers to the mail at extremely low rates (essential for an informed citizenry), a prohibition against opening letters as a surveillance tool, and the establishment of new post offices and postal routes by Congress rather than the Executive.
Complete Transcript
Congress of the United States:
At the Second Session,
Begun and held in the City of New York, on Monday,
the Fourth of January, one thousand seven
hundred and ninety.
An ACT to continue in force for a limited Time, an Act, intituled
“An Act for the Temporary Establishment of the Post-Office.”
BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act passed the last session of Congress, intituled “An act for the temporary establishment of the post-office,” be, and the same hereby is continued in force until the end of the next session of Congress, and no longer.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG,
Speaker of the House of Representatives
JOHN ADAMS, Vice-President of the United States;
and President of the Senate
Approved, August the fourth, 1790.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States.
(true copy.)
Th: Jefferson Secretary of State.
Condition: Mild toning in a few places well clear of text; very minor losses to the left margin. Archivally framed.
