Binding the Nation : Starting the System Starting the System George Washington envisioned a nation bound together by a system of post roads and post offices. Starting the System documents America's increasing need for a mail system to ensure the free flow of information between citizens and their government. Queen Anne's Act The Queen Anne Act was instrumental in creating a functioning postal system in the American colonies. Colonies and the Mail The British government needed a reliable mail service in the American colonies in order to communicate with its colonial governors. Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin helped bring form to the disorganized British colonial post, but was fired from his post for his pro-revolutionary activities. Washington's Postage Bill George Washington, while a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, was given this bill for letters sent him by Colonel Fairfax. Rate Chart Co-Deputy Postmasters General, Benjamin Franklin and John Foxcroft, created a chart that converted postage charges from British to colonial currency. William Goddard and the Constitutional Post Printer William Goddard petitioned Congress to accept his plan for an independent postal service in 1774. 1790 Act Signed by Jefferson In 1790, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson signed this copy of the act for the "Temporary Establishment of the Post Office." 1792 Postal Act The Postal Act of February 20, 1792 defined the character of the young Post Office Department. Mary Katherine Goddard Mary Katherine Goddard became Baltimore, Maryland's postmaster in 1775. She held the post for 14 years.

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