Who's Got Mail? : The History of Mail in America

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• Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN:
  9781647005573
• Edition: 0

A fascinating history of the US Post Office for kids, from acclaimed author Linda Barrett Osborne "In America, one of the first things done in a new State is to have the mail come." —Alexis de Toqueville, 1835 Who's Got Mail? is an intriguing and fact-filled look at how the mail has been delivered in the United States since before the Constitution was even signed. In the United States, the spread of the postal service went hand in hand with the spread of democracy and transportation. As settlement spread west, communication became even more important to let distant residents feel that they were American; no part of the country was too far away, no village or farm too small to have access to the post. Moreover, the Post Office has always been a public service—it was not originally designed to make a profit or act like a business, but to deliver letters, medical supplies, packages ordered through catalogs, and all the things that Americans need at a reasonable cost. Over the centuries, it has also been one of the largest employers in the United States, particularly as a means for African Americans and women to secure stable, middle-class jobs. Full of eccentric characters, great stories, and technological achievements, this fun middle-grade narrative nonfiction celebrates one of our oldest and strongest institutions and is a true testament to the spirit of American democracy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Expanding with the New Country
• 2. Slavery, Civil War, and the Mail
• 3. Upgrading the System
• 4. Mail Moves Up Into The Air and Out Into The Suburbs
• 5. From Post Office Department to United States Postal Service
• 6. African Americans in the Post Office
• 7. Women in the Post Office
• 8. Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in the Post Office
• 9. U.S. Postal Inspection Service
• 10. The Post Office of the Future
• Epilogue
• Timeline
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Image Credits
• Acknowledgments
• Index of Searchable Terms
• Back Cover