What happened to the post office?

Video Description

Have you ever wondered how to send a letter, but been to embarrassed to ask? Have you ever wondered how big my Forever stamp collection is? Have you ever wished you could see multiple New Deal post office murals in New Deal post office buildings? Is Mr. Zip is a celebrity? Did the creation of the USPS change our mail system for the better? All this and more is answered in this video I've been dreaming up for years. 0:00 Sending a mystery letter 0:43 My stamp collection 1:18 Explaining Forever stamps 2:04 How to send a letter 4:37 Zip codes 7:24 My 2024 Stamp purchases 8:00 First Day of Issue event 8:43 Becoming stamp influencer 10:13 Post Office mural stamps 13:45 Calculating profit 15:15 Postal Reorganization Act 21:28 Post office infastructure 23:23 Why privatization is political 26:35 What does service mean? 28:14 The letter! 29:20 Conclusion You can find my letter here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/unveiling-my-127361208 Check out my Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/kendragaylord I did an interview last year with a stamp magazine which you can read here, page 42: https://issuu.com/apsstamps/docs/stamped_q3 Sources: How the Post Office Created America by Winifred Gallagher, 2016. Letters, Power Lines, and Other Dangerous Things: The Politics of Infrastructure Security by Ryan Ellis, 2020. USPS stamps: https://store.usps.com/store/home Stamp News Now Upcoming Releases: http://www.stampnewsnow.com/uspsnewissues.html Swingin' Six Zip Code Video: https://youtu.be/QIChoMEQ4Cs?si=KWgSWrGe6wObq31p Mr Zip: https://web.archive.org/web/20090508223728/https://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/MrZIP.pdf First Class Mail Volume since 1926: https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/first-class-mail-since-1926.htm Evolution of Calling Costs: https://www.calilio.com/blogs/evolution-of-calling-costs United States Postal Service Fiscal Year Report 2024: https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2024.pdf The Atlantic - Why we still use postage stamps: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/04/stamps-museum-modest-technology/677950/ RISD Camille Chew profile: https://www.risd.edu/news/stories/grad-student-creates-artwork-for-usps-stamp Seattle Year of the Dragon National Stamp Unveiling: https://ocaseattle.org/2024/01/13/seattle-hosts-the-national-unveiling-of-new-usps-year-of-the-dragon-forever-stamp/ U.S. Postal Service Honors Post Office Lobby Artwork with Stamps: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2019/0410-new-stamps-feature-post-office-murals.htm Living New Deal Post Office Murals: Anadarko, OK: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/post-office-anadarko-ok/ Deming, NM: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/post-office-deming-nm/ Florence, CO: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/post-office-florence-co/ Rockville, MD: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/old-post-office-rockville-md/ Piggott, AR: https://livingnewdeal.org/sites/post-office-piggott-ar/ New Deal Art in Post Offices: https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/new-deal-art.pdf Dedication of the National Art Gallery, 1941: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-dedication-the-national-gallery-art Fortune 500 Companies: https://fortune.com/ranking/global500/ Postal facts - Size and Scope: https://facts.usps.com/size-and-scope/ Pew Research Center government departments: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/08/12/americans-see-many-federal-agencies-favorably-but-republicans-grow-more-critical-of-justice-department/ Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century, 2018: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Government-Reform-and-Reorg-Plan.pdf An Empirical History of the United States Postal Savings System, 2019: https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w25812/w25812.pdf 1819 USA Map by Golbez: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_1819-12-1820.png Remembering USPS’s short-lived Electronic Computer Originated Mail: https://www.nalc.org/news/the-postal-record/2023/may-2023/document/E-COM.pdf Pieces of Mail Handled, Number of Post Offices, Income, and Expenses Since 1789: https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pieces-of-mail-since-1789.htm