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- Publication of William Goddard's plan in the Essex Gazette
Publication of William Goddard's plan in the Essex Gazette
Object Details
- Description
- In the March 15-March 22, 1774, edition of the Essex Gazette, printers Samuel and Ebenezer Hall published the proposal of a fellow printer, William Goddard, for the establishment of an independent postal system. William Goddard’s plan constituted sedition because the mails fell under the purview of the British Crown. Goddard’s designs for a postal system embodied principles of open communication, freedom from governmental interference, and guaranteed free exchange of ideas. He presented his proposal to the Constitutional Congress nearly seven months after this publication. On July 26, 1775, the Congress adopted and implemented the plan, now known as the 'Constitutional Post'. The system sustained communication among the American revolutionaries for the duration of the war, and following independence the new nation’s mail service was built upon it.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- March 15-22, 1774
- Object number
- 1984.1127.3
- Associated Person
- Ebenezer Hall
- Samuel Hall
- Associated Organization
- The Essex Gazette
- Writer
- William Goddard
- Type
- Archival Material
- Medium
- paper; ink
- Dimensions
- Height x Width x Depth: 15 3/4 × 20 in. (40.01 × 50.8 cm)
- Place
- Massachusetts
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Topic
- Colonial Era (1607-1776)
- Postal Administration
- Record ID
- npm_1984.1127.3
- Usage
- CC0
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