U.S. Postal Service to celebrate 250th anniversary. What to know about its past, possible future
The agency's semiquincentennial will be marked by an event at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, two and a half centuries since its founding. Two newly announced commemorative stamps will also mark the occasion.
USPS was founded as the U.S. Post Office Department on July 26, 1775, by decree of the Second Continental Congress. In 1970, Congress reorganized USPOD from a cabinet-level department into an independent agency — the modern USPS. Historians see the establishment of a national postal service as a crucial factor in ensuring the young country stayed unified during the Revolutionary War.
One of the new commemorative stamps, announced Wednesday by USPS, features Benjamin Franklin in a modern interpretation of one of the first two U.S. postage stamps ever produced in 1847. Franklin, a participant in the Second Continental Congress, briefly served as the first U.S. postmaster general after serving in the equivalent role under British rule from 1757 to 1774.
The other stamp celebrates men and women of the agency with a new collection of cityscape illustrations depicting a postal worker on her route through all four seasons. A 32-page booklet — only the fourth ever released by USPS — was also announced Wednesday and is set to feature selected stamp artwork from across the service's history.
David Steiner, the newly appointed U.S. postmaster general, said that the new stamps represent enduring values every American can learn from, including perseverance, trust and imagination.
"For the United States Postal Service, today is a milestone 250 years in the making," Steiner said in a statement Wednesday. "These stamps will serve as a window into our shared history."
The museum does not comment on current or political events.
Saturday's celebration comes months after sources said President Trump was mulling folding the USPS into the Commerce Department. Mr. Trump also said in December that his upcoming administration was "looking into" potentially privatizing the postal service.
The White House is not actively considering or advancing such a proposal, a White House official said Saturday.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would be leaving the position in February, and Steiner, a former FedEx board member, took over earlier this month in the position.
Steiner told USPS employees that he "did not believe that the Postal Service should be privatized or that it should become an appropriated part of the federal government."
But Saturday, the National Postal Museum family-friendly Postal Party will be celebrating. The museum will feature activities, crafts and games, as well as a Franklin reenactor, allowing kids to learn postal history directly from the founding father. Other historic touchpoints set to be highlighted at the event include Owney, the 19th century terrier that served as an unofficial Postal Service mascot, and the Stinson Reliant, an early airmail carrier model from the late 1930s.
The event won't just be looking toward the past, however. Anne Matlock, the museum's youth and family programs manager, said that the event is "looking back and looking forward, all at the same time," with exhibits about the future of the Postal Service.
"We often don't think about all the ways that the Postal Service is connecting us through our Family, our community, to other spaces," Matlock said. "We want people to kind of think about those connections, see them in their own lives, and share things with all the Postal Service workers."
The museum is also teaming up with other Smithsonian institutions for the event, which will include an airmail delivery game with the National Air and Space Museum, a Franklin-focused creative design activity with the National Museum of American History and storytime with the D.C. Public Library.
The free event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump, Carney to speak soon, Canadian official says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely talk "over the next number of days" after the U.S. imposed a 35% tariff on goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a Canadian official said on Sunday. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister in charge of U.S.-Canada trade, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he believes there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down tariffs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Former Jobs Data Chief Decries Firing of Successor
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's firing of the chief labor statistician was criticized by her predecessor, who called it an unfounded move that will undermine confidence in a key data set on the US economy. We Should All Be Biking Along the Beach Seeking Relief From Heat and Smog, Cities Follow the Wind Chicago Curbs Hiring, Travel to Tackle $1 Billion Budget Hole NYC Mayor Adams Gives Bally's Bronx Casino Plan a Second Chance 'This is damaging,' William Beach, whom Trump picked in his first term to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. Trump on Friday fired Erika McEntarfer hours after labor market data showed weak jobs growth based in part on steep downward revisions for May and June. The move by Trump, who claimed the latest monthly report was 'phony,' prompted an outcry from economists and lawmakers. 'I don't know that there's any grounds at all for this firing,' said Beach, whom McEntarfer replaced in January 2024. 'And it really hurts the statistical system. It undermines credibility in BLS.' Studies indicate that the agency's data is more accurate than 20 or 30 years ago, including any revisions of the initial data, Beach said. Even so, he said he'll trust future BLS data because people working for the agency are 'some of the most loyal Americans you can imagine,' making the bureau 'the finest statistical agency in the entire world.' Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, speaking Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation, urged the US government to improve its data collection to avoid revisions that engender distrust. 'We watch what consumers really do. We watch what businesses really do,' Moynihan said, while not addressing the politics of the firing. 'They can get this data, I think, other ways, and I think that's where the focus would be.' He noted the revision for May and June data, while not unusual, was one of the largest in seven years. 'That creates doubt around it,' he said. 'Let's spend some money. Let's bring the information together. Let's find where else in the government money is reported.' McEntarfer was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan 86-8 vote. Vice President JD Vance, then a senator, voted to approve her nomination. Kevin Hassett, Trump's chief economic adviser at the White House, alleged that the large jobs data revisions were poorly explained and were evidence enough for a 'fresh set of eyes' at BLS. He sought to contradict Beach's portrayal of the agency as politically neutral. 'The bottom line is that there were people involved in creating these numbers,' Hassett said on NBC's Meet the Press. Pressed on whether Trump would fire anyone offering data he disagreed with, Hassett, who heads the National Economic Council, disagreed. 'No, absolutely not,' he said. 'The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they're more transparent and more reliable.' (Updates with Moynihan comments beginning in sixth paragraph.) How Podcast-Obsessed Tech Investors Made a New Media Industry Everyone Loves to Hate Wind Power. Scotland Found a Way to Make It Pay Off Russia Builds a New Web Around Kremlin's Handpicked Super App Cage-Free Eggs Are Booming in the US, Despite Cost and Trump's Efforts What's Really Behind Those Rosy GDP Numbers? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
CNN
18 minutes ago
- CNN
‘The climate has always been changing': EPA chief defends push to roll back climate regulations
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joins CNN's Kasie Hunt to discuss the Trump administration's push to reverse a landmark scientific finding that planet-warming pollution harms human health.
