postmaster general
| Dictionary: postmaster general |
n., pl., postmasters general. (Abbr. PMG)
The executive head of a national postal service.
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| Politics: postmaster general |
The head of the United States Postal Service. Until 1970, the postmaster general was head of the federal Post Office Department and a member of the president's cabinet. In 1970, the Postal Service was set up as an independent agency in place of the Post Office Department. The Postal Service is operated like a private corporation, although postal workers receive the benefits of federal employees.
| WordNet: postmaster general |
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
the official in charge of the national postal service
| Wikipedia: United States Postmaster General |
The 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. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress as the first Postmaster General, serving slightly longer than 15 months.
Until 1971, the Postmaster General was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post Office" until the 1820s).[1] From 1829 to 1971, he was a member of the President's Cabinet.
The Cabinet post of Postmaster General was often given to a new President's campaign manager or other key political supporter, and was considered something of a sinecure. The Postmaster General was in charge of the governing party's patronage, and was a powerful position which held much influence within the party. For example, James Farley used his position as Postmaster General during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal administration to reward party loyalists within Congress who supported Roosevelt's initial "100 days" legislation with federal patronage for their states. Federal appointments, except for a small handful, were screened by Farley before the President could approve the appointments due to the patronage position of the Postmaster General.
In 1971, the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, a special agency independent of the executive branch. Thus, the Postmaster General is no longer a member of the Cabinet and is no longer in line to be President. During the Civil War, the Confederate States of America also had a Confederate Post-Office Department, headed by a Postmaster General, John Henninger Reagan.
The current Postmaster General is also CEO of the U.S. Postal Service.
Contents |
Postmasters General under the Continental Congress
| Name | Date appointed |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Franklin | July 26, 1775 |
| Richard Bache | November 7, 1776 |
| Ebenezer Hazard | January 28, 1782 |
Postmasters General under the U.S. Constitution, 1789–1971
| Name | State of Residence | Date appointed | President(s) served under |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Osgood (pictured right) | New York | September 26, 1789 | Washington |
| Timothy Pickering | Massachusetts | August 12, 1791 | Washington |
| Joseph Habersham | Georgia | February 25, 1795 | Washington, Adams, Jefferson |
| Gideon Granger | Connecticut | November 28, 1801 | Jefferson, Madison |
| Return J. Meigs, Jr. | Ohio | March 17, 1814 | Madison, Monroe |
| John McLean | Ohio | June 26, 1823 | Monroe, J. Q. Adams |
Cabinet-level Postmasters General
Postmasters General under the U.S. Postal Service, 1971–present
| Name | Date appointed[2] |
|---|---|
| Winton M. Blount | July 1, 1971 |
| E. T. Klassen | January 1, 1972 |
| Benjamin F. Bailar | February 16, 1975 |
| William F. Bolger | March 15, 1978 |
| Paul N. Carlin | January 1, 1985 |
| Albert Vincent Casey | January 7, 1986 |
| Preston Robert Tisch | August 16, 1986 |
| Anthony M. Frank | March 1, 1988 |
| Marvin Travis Runyon | July 6, 1992 |
| William J. Henderson | May 16, 1998 |
| John E. Potter | June 1, 2001 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Publication 100 - The United States Postal Service: An American History 1775-2002
- ^ Since July 1, 1971, the Postmaster General has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.
External links
- Official site
- List of Postmasters General
- Papers of Arthur E. Summerfield, Postmaster General, 1953-1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Politics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- PMG (abbreviation)
- U.S. Postal Board of Governors (in marketing)
- field division manager (in marketing)
- Frank Harris Hitchcock (American statesman)
- Wanamaker, John (American merchant)
- Postmaster (in marketing)
- Harry Stewart New (American statesman & politician)
- Trading with the Enemies Act
- John Angel James Creswell (American statesman & jurist)
- United States Postal Service (Government Agency Company)
- Jr. Winton Malcolm Blount (American statesman)
- Richard Bache (American businessman)
- Walter Folger Brown (American statesman)
- Joseph Habersham (American statesman & politician)
