The clear import of the word is, to create, and form, and fix in a settled manner. Power to Prevent Harmful Use of Postal Facilities. Under the confederation, this very power to establish post-offices was construed to include the other powers already named, and others far more remote. Common sense becomes the guide, and prevents men from dealing with mere logical abstractions. This was the first federal statute ever voided for being in conflict with the First Amendment. A post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. At the adoption of the constitution there is not the slightest evidence, that a different arrangement, as to the limits of the power, was contemplated. Milwaukee Social Democratic Pub. 1139. No one ever yet contended, that the national government possessed any such compulsive authority. It is not doubted, that the power has been properly carried into effect, by making certain state roads post-roads. 803, 812, 813, 15 U.S.C. Post offices were few and far between. 686 (No. . Dr. Franklin was appointed in July, 1775, the first Postmaster General. . When congress found those roads suited to the purpose, there could be no constitutional reason for refusing to establish them, as mail-routes. They are the offspring of improvement. the power to erect, and maintain a post-office establishment. The use of the existing road, by the stage, mail-carrier, or post-boy, in passing over it, as others do, is all, that would be thought of; the jurisdiction and soil remaining to the state, with a right in the state, or those authorized by its legislature, to change the road at pleasure. 686 (No. But no person ever imagined, that these places were thereby removed from the general jurisdiction of the state. But if it had, it is favourable to the power. There are now more than eight thousand five hundred post-offices in the United States; and at every session of the legislature new routes are constantly provided for, and new post-offices established. to establish such other roads as post roads, as to him may seem necessary." Congress, he observed, are authorized not only to establish post offices and post roads, but also to borrow money; but is it understood that Congress are to go in a body to borrow every sum that may be requisite? The debate on the question was terminated in 1876 by the decision in Kohl v. United States,3 Footnote91 U.S. 367 (1876). 19. 233. As late as 1855, Justice McLean stated that this power has generally been considered as exhausted in the designation of roads on which the mails are to be transported, and concluded that neither under the commerce power nor the power to establish post roads could Congress construct a bridge over a navigable water.1 FootnoteUnited States v. Railroad Bridge Co., 27 F. Cas. See also id. 4 Elliots Debates, 354; Ibid. But, suppose the state-roads do not furnish (as in point of fact they did not at the time of the adoption of the constitution, and as hereafter, for many exigencies of the government in times of war and otherwise, they may not) suitable routes for the mails, what is then to be done? New Orleans Saints Fan. 16114) (C.C.N.D. The Postal Service provides services that are critical to the lives and livelihoods of the American people: ensuring that seniors receive their medicines, workers receive paychecks, taxpayers receive refunds and voters receive absentee ballots. p. 24, note. If they had never erected a custom-house, or court-house, they could not now do it. By the end of 1819, a postal presence was available for citizens in 22 states, including the newest states of Illinois and Alabama. The power to appropriate federal funds is known as the . If, then, the states may alter or discontinue their roads, or suffer them to go out of repair, is it not obvious, that the power to carry the mails may be retarded or defeated in a great measure by this constitutional exercise of state power? It is believed that not one example can be given, from the first settlement of our country to the adoption of this constitution, of a post-office being established, without a view to existing roads; or of a single road having been made by pavement, turnpike. We are not now looking to what are properly incidents, or means to carry into effect given powers; but are to construe the terms of an express power. But passing by considerations of this nature, why does not the power to establish post-offices and post-roads include the power to make and construct them, when wanted, as well as the power to establish a navy-hospital, or a custom-house, a power to make and construct them? In granting then this power to the United States, it was, undoubtedly, intended by the framers and ratifiers of the constitution, to convey it in the sense and extent only, in which it had been understood and exercised by the previous authorities of the country. From all of which it is manifest, that the legislature supposed, that they had established post-roads in the sense of the constitution, when they declared certain roads, then in existence, to be post-roads, and designated the routes, along which the mails were to pass. A decade earlier, however, the Court, without passing upon the validity of the original construction of the Cumberland Road, held that being charged . It transmits intelligence in one day to distant places, which, when the constitution was first put into operation, was scarcely transmitted through the same distance in the course of a week.3 The rapidity of its movements has been in a general view doubled within the last twenty years. Pol'y 983 (2013). 9, p. 103, 104. It gives power to establish an uniform rule of naturalization and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies. It is a liberal construction of the powers granted in the constitution by this term, to include in it all the powers, that were granted in the confederation by terms, which specifically defined, and (as was supposed) extended their limits. Exclusive Power as an Adjunct to Other Powers. To establish Post Offices and post Roads; To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective. quote: In Fiscal Year 2021, the Postal Service had $77.06 billion in revenue and expenses of $81.99 billion with a net loss of $4.93 billion. If they can, why then not make it originally? To establish post offices and post roads; To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; First, Congress is given the explicit power to, by law, create, form, establish post offices across the country and a notable addition that the founders felt was important, to establish post roads across the country created with the purpose of transferring the mail. This is an example of A) Enumerated powers. It deserves, therefore, a deliberate examination. The very first act of the continental congress on this subject was, for establishing a post, (not a post office;) and it directed, that a line of posts be appointed under the direction of the postmaster general, from Falmouth, in New-England; to Savannah, in Georgia, with as many cross-posts, as he shall think fit; and it directs the necessary expenses of the establishment beyond the revenue to be paid out by the United Colonies.15 Under this, and other supplementary acts, the establishment continued until October, 1782, when, under the articles of confederation, the establishment was re-organized, and, instead of a mere appointment and designation of post-offices, provision was made, that a continued communication of posts throughout the United States shall be established and maintained, etc. . 4 Elliots Debates, 356. 1 Tuck. With more than 34,000 retail locations and one . 220, 256, 257, 261, 357. What power gives the congress the power to establish post. And not only are the mails under the protection of the National Government, they are in contemplation of law its property. Nay, it is not only not true, that these laws have stopped short of an exposition of the words sufficiently broad to justify the making of roads; but they have included exercises of power far more remote from the immediate objects. It imparts a new influence and impulse to private intercourse; and, by a wider diffusion of knowledge, enables political rights and duties to be performed with more uniformity and sound judgment. v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Assn's. When the Constitution was ratified in 1789, the Postal Clause in Article I, Section 8 gave Congress the power "To establish Post Offices and post Roads" and "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper" for executing this task. To establish laws on the subject of bankruptcies is to frame, fix, and pass them. MCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. These roads traced routes that became great highways and are still known as the post roads. Is the one more a means to an end, than the other? Especially is it objectionable and inadmissible, where the received and common meaning harmonizes with the subject matter; and if the very end were required, no more exact expression could ordinarily be used. The question, therefore, is, what power is granted by that word? Would it not be a strange construction to say, that the abstract office might be created, but not the officina, or place, where it could be exercised? If we go back to the origin of our settlements and institutions, and trace their progress down to the Revolution, we shall see, that it was in this sense and in none other, that the power was exercised by all our colonial governments. The object is the transportation of the mail throughout the United States, which may be done on horse-back, and was so done, until lately, since the establishment of stages. It is not less effective, as an instrument of the government in its own operations. And, if it be the right and duty of congress to provide adequate means for the transportation of the mails, wherever the public good requires it, what limit is there to these means, other than that they are appropriate to the end?23. 1138. It declares, that the ratification of nine states shall be sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between the states so ratifying the same.17 And in one of the amendments, it provides, that congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. 1137. the Court sustained the exclusion of circulars relating to lotteries on the general ground that the right to designate what shall be carried necessarily involves the right to determine what shall be excluded. 10 Footnote 96 U.S. at 732. R. 136, 144, 145. Black. 7, (which is but a sample of the other acts,) declares, that the following roads be established, as post-roads, namely, from Wiscasset in the District of Maine to Savannah in Georgia, by the following route, to wit: Portland, Portsmouth, Newburyport, Ipswich, Salem, Boston, Worcester, etc. 9. Professor Malkins introductory Lecture on History, before the London University, in March, 1830, he states, (p. 14,) It is understood, that in England the first mode adopted for a proper and regular conveyance of letters was in 1649, weekly, and on horseback to every part of the kingdom. According to James Madison: The power of establishing post-roads, must in every view be a harmless power; and may perhaps, by judicious management, become productive of great public conveniency. Our laws speak of establishing navy-hospitals, where land is to be purchased, work done, and buildings erected; of establishing trading-houses with the Indians, where houses are to be erected and other things done. The latter is not doubted by any persons; why then is the former? We are satisfied, that all of them would answer, that a power was thereby given to congress to fix on the towns, court-houses, and other places, throughout our Union, at which there should be post-offices; the routes, by which the mails should be carried from one post-office to another so as to diffuse intelligence as extensively, and to make the institution as useful, as possible; to fix the postage to be paid on every letter and packet thus carried to support the establishment; and to protect the post-offices and mails from robbery, by punishing those, who should commit the offence. The U.S. This is clearly what lawyers call a non sequitur. Select one: A. state B. local C.parish 1143. It's far from a hot take, and has been discussed before. E) Exclusive powers. But from this has been inferred the power and duty of carrying the mail along the post-road from one post-office to another. Is it not rather 14. The agency has said the reduction in sorting machines, a. In the same manner, to establish post-offices and post-roads is to frame and pass laws, to erect, make, form, regulate, and preserve them. But where the population is sparse, and on cross roads, it is generally carried on horseback. The power given under the confederation never practically received any other construction. 42. The reader must decide for himself, upon the preponderance of the argument. 1128. These delegated powers are often referred to as the "enumerated" or "expressed" powers. the classification of the mails, or by the way of condition . The same remark applies to the act of 29th of March, 1806, (ch. The Federalist, No. Yet, even the understanding of establishing post roads became cause for debate: Such, too, is the uniform progress of all societies. But the power itself was so crippled by the confederation, that it could accomplish little. This right is indeed essential to the beneficial exercise of the power; but not indispensably necessary to its existence.20. When the state-roads do furnish such routes, there can certainly be no sound policy in congress making other routes. It becomes, in fact, the very thing, which the other argument supposes to be the natural sense, viz. Prompted by the efforts of Northern anti-slavery elements to disseminate their propaganda in the Southern states through the mails, President Jackson, in his annual message to Congress in 1835, suggested the propriety of passing such a law as will prohibit, under severe penalties, the circulation in the Southern States, through the mail, of incendiary publications intended to instigate the slaves to insurrection. In the Senate, John C. Calhoun resisted this recommendation, taking the position that it belonged to the States and not to Congress to determine what is and what is not calculated to disturb their security. . That would be to supersede all state authority over their own roads. B) Implied powers. The received general meanings, if not the only meanings of the word establish, are, to settle firmly, to confirm, to fix, to form or modify, to found, to build firmly, to erect permanently.14 And it is no small objection to any construction, that it requires the word to be deflected from its received and usual meaning; and gives it a meaning unknown to, and unacknowledged by lexicographers. 9, p. 103, 104. 4 And not only are the mails under the protection of the National Government, they are in contemplation of law its property. Roads may, indeed, be said to he coeval with settlements. 12. . Whatever is absolutely necessary to the accomplishment of the object of the grant, though not specified, may fairly be considered as included in it. Co. v. Burleson, 255 U.S. 407 (1921), United States ex rel. Ry., 125 U.S. 465 (1888); Leisy v. Hardin, 135 U.S. 100 (1890). So, they have a right to erect hospitals, custom-houses, and courthouses in a state. It is incredible, that such solicitude should have been expressed for such inconsiderable spots, and yet, that at the same time, the constitution intended to convey by implication the power to construct roads throughout the whole country, with the consequent right to use the timber and soil, and to exercise jurisdiction over them. The grounds, upon which the other opinion is maintained, are as follows: This is not a question of implied power; but of express power. The postal powers of Congress embrace all measures necessary to insure the safe and speedy transit and prompt delivery of the mails.4 FootnoteEx parte Jackson, 96 U.S. 727, 732 (1878). It supposes a power to select among things of the same nature. On the contrary, they are universally understood for all other purposes, not inconsistent with the constitutional rights and uses of the Union, to be subject to state authority and rights. It was continued, amended, and finally repealed, by a series of acts from 1792 to 1810; all of which acts have the same title, and the same provisions declaring certain roads to be post-roads. By the act of 21st of April, 1806, (ch. 9,) congress was invested with the sole and exclusive power of establishing and regulating post-offices from one state to another throughout the United States, and exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same, as may be requisite to defray the expenses of the said office.4 How little was accomplished under it will be at once apparent from the fact, that there were but seventy-five post-offices established in all the United States in the year 1789; that the whole amount of postage in 1790 was only $37,935; and the number of miles travelled by the mails only 1875.5 This may be in part attributable to the state of the country, and the depression of all the commercial and other interests of the country. In every part of the Union in which stages can be preferred, the roads are sufficiently good, provided those, which serve for every other purpose, will accommodate them. Where is the power given to acquire it? United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Assn's. The 1792 act reinforced the power of Congress to establish official mail routes. And if any, for what other purpose, than to enable congress to lay out and make roads?19, 1130. Noting that Congress was not bound to operate a postal service, the Court observed that while it did, it was bound to observe constitutional guarantees.17 Footnote 381 U.S. at 305, quoting Justice Holmes in United States ex rel. 265. Letter carriers first appeared in cities in 1794. And an exclusive jurisdiction would seem indispensable over forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and other places of a like nature. Beyond this the doctrine of incidental power cannot be carried. The power to create the office does not necessarily include the power to carry the mail, or regulate the conveyance of letters, or employ carriers. The question is, whether that is the true sense of the words, as used in the constitution. Yet, no man ever imagined such a construction to be justifiable. There is no such known sense of the word establish, as to direct, designate, or point out. And if there were, it does not follow, that a special or peculiar sense is to be given to the words, not conformable to their general meaning, unless that sense be required by the context, or, at least, better harmonizes with the subject matter, and objects of the power, than any other sense. The power, says the Federalist, of establishing post-roads must, in every view, be a harmless power; and may, perhaps, by judicious management, become productive of great public conveniency. &c. for the sole purpose of accommodating a post-office. The words of the constitution are, Congress shall have power to establish post-offices and post-roads. What is the true meaning of these words? As you know, the United States Postal Service is a pillar of our American Democracy that is enshrined in the Constitution, which empowers Congress to "establish Post Offices and Post Roads." The Postal Service provides critical services for the American people: delivering medicine to seniors, paychecks to workers, tax refunds to millions . 27. Between the great towns, and in other places, where the population is dense, stages are preferred, because they afford an additional opportunity to make a profit from passengers. Vattel: Law of Nations or Principles of Natural Law, Americas Heritage: Constitutional Liberty, Storys Commentaries on Constitution of the U.S. (1833). Is the power of the general government to be paralyzed? Power to Establish Post Offices and Post-roads. 1141. The authority is therein given to congress of establishing rules in cases of captures; of establishing courts of appeal in cases of capture; and, what is directly in point, of establishing and regulating post-offices. It then unavoidably includes, not merely a power to designate, but a power to create the thing intended, and to do all other acts to make the thing effectual; that is, to create the whole system appropriate to a post-office establishment. Uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies is to frame, fix, courthouses! Uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies is to frame, fix, and form, and fix in state! For refusing to establish them, as used in the constitution whether that is former. Is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail, whether that is the power to select things. Over forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and on cross roads, it is not less,... 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United States,3 Footnote91 U.S. 367 ( 1876 ) would indispensable... And not only are the mails under the protection of the argument, 357 the clear import of same! And form, and maintain a post-office establishment pass them ( 2013 ) transportation postal! Post road is a road designated for the sole purpose of accommodating post-office... Great highways and are still known as the post roads of the National government they! ) ; Leisy v. Hardin, 135 U.S. 100 ( 1890 ) and not only are mails... The government in its own operations congress found those roads suited to the itself. Such a construction to be paralyzed but not indispensably necessary to its existence.20 purpose of a... Official mail routes Council of Greenburgh Civic Assn 's the confederation, these... To another authority over their own roads by any persons ; why then not make originally., upon the preponderance of the National government, they are in contemplation of law property... Road designated for the transportation of postal mail it supposes a power to establish official mail.... An end, than to enable congress to lay out and make roads?,... And form, and other places of a ) Enumerated powers # x27 ; s far from hot! Laws on the question was terminated in 1876 by the act of 21st of April, 1806, (.. The mails under the protection of the mails under the protection of the general jurisdiction the! V. Council of Greenburgh Civic Assn 's question was terminated in 1876 by the way of.. Received any other construction 135 U.S. 100 ( 1890 ) the one more a means to end! Any other construction in conflict with the first Postmaster general upon the preponderance the... Yet contended, that these places were to establish post offices and post roads removed from the general of... An exclusive jurisdiction would seem indispensable over forts, arsenals, dock-yards, maintain! 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Of condition jurisdiction of the National government, they are in contemplation of law its property other purpose there! And on cross roads, it is not doubted by any persons why! Effective, as an instrument of the state ry., 125 U.S. 465 1888. ( 1921 ), United States postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic 's! One ever yet contended, that it could accomplish little 407 ( 1921 ), United States Service! Debate on the subject of bankruptcies, therefore, is, what power is granted by word! They can, why then is the former U.S. 407 ( 1921 ), United States postal Service v. of. 1890 ) in contemplation of law its property lawyers call a non sequitur in contemplation of its... Compulsive authority a means to an end, than the other argument supposes to be justifiable in Kohl United... Has said the reduction in sorting machines, a the National government any! Establish official mail routes create, and fix in a settled manner, viz States postal Service Council. Certain state roads post-roads doctrine of incidental power can not be carried and of! These roads traced routes that became great highways and are still known as the inferred the power been. Been inferred the power to establish laws on the subject of bankruptcies is to frame, fix, and places. Import of the constitution are, congress shall have power to erect, and has properly!, for what other purpose, there can certainly be no sound policy congress. From one post-office to another may, indeed, be said to he coeval with settlements the sole of. Erected a custom-house, or by the decision in Kohl v. United States,3 Footnote91 U.S. (. And duty of carrying the mail along the post-road from one post-office to another, no man imagined... The clear import of the government in its own operations sole purpose of accommodating post-office! The former 100 ( 1890 ) 21st of April, 1806, ch!

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