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Benjamin Franklin was named postmaster of Philadelphia by the British Crown in 1737. The colonial
post still carried mostly official and commercial correspondence, and most communications were
transatlantic. Few residents of one colony needed to contact residents of another. But over the next
three decades, a sense of common destiny began to unite the colonies in opposition to British rule.
Benjamin Franklin brought form to the disorganized British colonial post. In 1753 Franklin became the
Crown's joint postmaster general for the American colonies. He moved quickly to improve the fledgling
service. After a 1,600-mile inspection of post offices, he organized a weekly mail wagon between
Philadelphia and Boston. Franklin's postal riders traveled day and night by horseback in relays, using
lanterns to light their way. The service cut mail delivery time between the cities in half, making the
colonial post both efficient for colonists and profitable for the Crown.
In 1774, the Crown dismissed Franklin from his position as joint Postmaster General because of his
revolutionary activities. The next year, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin postmaster
general of the United Colonies.
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