The Politics of Postal Reform Have Always Been Part of USPS History

Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Postal Reorganization Act, the landmark law that created the United States Postal Service (USPS). The law walked a difficult tightrope—creating a postal network that operated as both a business and public service. Today, as the fate of the USPS hangs in the balance, we’re featuring an excerpt from “Letters, Power Lines, and Other Dangerous Things: The Politics of Infrastructure Security” that looks back at the creation of the USPS and reveals how it transformed postal politics for good — and for ill.