In the early 1800s, the postal service relied heavily on riverboat traffic to extend mail service to the South and West. Even the best roads in these areas of the country were poor. In 1823, Congress declared all steamboat routes to be post roads, subject to federal regulations.
Although steamboats provided the most reliable and rapid transport of the mails the service was far from spectacular. Weather and accidents delayed service, and steamboat captains found it hard to stick to the regular schedules demanded in postal contracts. The financial rewards of the mail contracts were often not worth the inconvenience. A typical ship might receive $4.00 for carrying the mail 150 miles, the same price as a cabin passenger's ticket. Captains also diverted money from the postal coffers by carrying mail privately for a fee.
