Mail services first began with the Colonial Americans asking all kind of people to bring their letters for them. Since this was the begining of something new one can only imagine how messy it was, until the mail drop was made to organize the chaos of sending and recieving letters. In 1707 the British government began running the North American postal services and had a plan to improve the future of mail. They began planning routes and placing milestones, which were placed on major roads, and ended up cutting the time in half for mail to arrive in Philadelphia from New York. In 1789 the Constitution was adopted and made the number of post offices and roads increase significantly. The next thing to be focused on was the transportation of mail. Since mail was first delivered by foot or horseback one can only imagine why they needed to find a way to deliver mail quicker. In the 19th century stagecoaches were used to deliver mail, but by 1813 they tried switching things up by using steamboats to reach towns that could not be reached by roads. About 18 years later trains were used for "short routes".  They continued trying to create more efficient ways to deliever mail as quickly as possible. The newest approach to transportating mail was developed in 1896 and was known as the horseless wagon. Just as we know it today, in the late 1914's Congress finally approved to use motor vehicles for postal delivery services.

I sat down on late afternoon and began spilling my heart onto the pages that laid before me. I began by explaining to my dear friend Dorthea how we were both in the same position. Tears fell onto the pages before me because of my husbands terrible health condintion. I knew I could talk to Dorthea about things of these sorts, and it was bad to say but it helped to know that she was in the same predicament. I walked out to the mailbox, letter tight in my arms ready to let my feelings dissapear with my letter when suddenly it hit me. When was Dorthea to recieve this letter? When will she know that she is not alone in this world. I knew that my letter would be ripped out of my hands and delievered into hers, but when? By that time it may be too late, my husband may already be dead. Letters usually took a couple weeks, maybe even months to reach the other person. I know this because before my husband fell ill he began educating me on how mail went from being delivered by foot to now using trains. Although I was thankful it would not take as long now for Dorthea to recieve my letter I struggled with the decision that was there before me. Should I send the letter knowing my loving husband may be dead within the next few days just to worry Dorthea, when we all know she has enough to worry about with her dear Casaubon, or do I pretend as if I never ripped my heart out and slammed it onto the pages in my hand?

Work Cited

“History of Mail Service and Mailboxes - NationalMailboxes.com Is the Leading Mailbox Supplier.” National Mailboxes, 6 Jan. 2019, www.nationalmailboxes.com/learn/.