Article IArticle One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of the legislative branch of the federal government - the Congress.The Article provides that Congress consists of a House of Representatives and the Senate, establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each...
, Section 8, Clause 7 of the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
, known as the
Postal Clause or the
Postal Power, empowers
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
"To establish
Post OfficesA post office is a facility authorised by a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail. Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and
post RoadsA post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. In past centuries only major towns had a post house, and the roads used by post riders or mail coaches to carry mail among them were particularly important ones or, due to the special attention given them, became so...
".
The Postal Clause was added to the Constitution primarily to facilitate interstate communication, as well to create a source of revenue for the early United States. There were some early disagreements as to the boundaries of the Postal Power. John Jay, in a letter to
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
, opined that the postal service should not be burdened with the responsibility for handling
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
delivery, and also suggested that the Post Office be placed under the supervision of the
executive branch}}In the study of political science the executive branch of government has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the democratic idea of the separation of powers .In many...
(a suggestion which later led to the creation of the
Post Office DepartmentThe Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the United States Postmaster General....
).
Article IArticle One of the United States Constitution describes the powers of the legislative branch of the federal government - the Congress.The Article provides that Congress consists of a House of Representatives and the Senate, establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each...
, Section 8, Clause 7 of the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
, known as the
Postal Clause or the
Postal Power, empowers
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
"To establish
Post OfficesA post office is a facility authorised by a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail. Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and
post RoadsA post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. In past centuries only major towns had a post house, and the roads used by post riders or mail coaches to carry mail among them were particularly important ones or, due to the special attention given them, became so...
".
History
The Postal Clause was added to the Constitution primarily to facilitate interstate communication, as well to create a source of revenue for the early United States. There were some early disagreements as to the boundaries of the Postal Power. John Jay, in a letter to
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
, opined that the postal service should not be burdened with the responsibility for handling
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
delivery, and also suggested that the Post Office be placed under the supervision of the
executive branch}}In the study of political science the executive branch of government has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the democratic idea of the separation of powers .In many...
(a suggestion which later led to the creation of the
Post Office DepartmentThe Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the United States Postmaster General....
).
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
feared that the postal service would become a source of
patronagePatronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
and a waste of money. (This fear turned out to be somewhat prophetic, as the office of the
Postmaster GeneralThe United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
came to take charge of patronage.) Jefferson also expressed doubt at granting Congress the power to designate post roads, as he considered road building to be a
stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
responsibility.
Interpretation
The Clause has been construed to give Congress the enumerated power to designate
mailMail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal...
routes and construct or designate post offices, with the
implied authority"Implied powers" are powers not given to the government directly through the Constitution, but are implied.-United States:These powers fall under the Elastic Clause in Section 8 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. This document lets the government create “necessary and proper” programs/laws and...
to carry, deliver, and regulate the mails of the United States as a whole. An early controversy was whether Congress had the power to actually build post roads and post offices, or merely designate which lands and roads were to be used for this purpose, and to what extent that power could be delegated to the Postmaster General. The
U.S. Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
construed the power narrowly during the early part of the 19th century, holding that the power consisted mostly of designation of roads and sites, but gradually gave way later on, allowing appropriation of land for postal purposes.
The Postal Power also includes the power to designate certain materials as nonmailable, and to pass
statuteA statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law and the regulations issued by...
s criminalizing abuses of the postal system (such as
mail fraudMail fraud is an offence under US federal law, which refers to any scheme which attempts to unlawfully obtain money or valuables in which the postal system is used at any point in the commission of a criminal offense. Mail fraud is covered by Title 18 of the United States Code, Chapter 63...
and
armed robberyRobbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear. Precise definitions of the offence may vary between...
of post offices). This power has been used by Congress and the Postmaster General to exclude
obsceneObscenity , is a term that is most often used in a legal context to describe expressions that offend the prevalent sexual morality of the time...
materials from the mails, beginning with an act in 1872 to ban
lotteryA lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery...
circulars from the mails, as well as the Comstock laws in 1873. These attempts at limiting the content of the mails were upheld by the Supreme Court, but in the 20th century, the Court took a more assertive approach in striking down postal laws which limited
free expressionFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, particularly as it related to political materials. The
First AmendmentThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
thus provided a check on the Postal Power.
External links