How the Post Office Made America

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  • Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
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Комментарии • 1,2 тыс.

  • @Wendoverproductions
    @Wendoverproductions  7 лет назад +644

    I hope you enjoy this video! It's certainly a unique topic :)
    If you don't already know, I started a podcast with Brian from Real Engineering called Showmakers. So far we've talked to Hank Green, Destin Sandlin, Myke Hurley, and Ben Schlappig and I encourage you to give it a listen to see if you like it!
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    Also please check out the sponsor, Away, with the link in the description.
    It's honestly a really great suitcase and they make the show possible!

    • @bobdylan2843
      @bobdylan2843 7 лет назад +5

      Wendover Productions LOVE ME!!

    • @blueShinyApple
      @blueShinyApple 7 лет назад +4

      Your video is very similar to the 99% Invisible podcast episode from 4 months ago, so no, not so unique.

    • @fannykeith
      @fannykeith 7 лет назад

      Ben Schlappig as in One Mile At A Time? Wow

    • @aariyanp6035
      @aariyanp6035 7 лет назад

      Wendover Productions ii

    • @LoSpotItaliano
      @LoSpotItaliano 7 лет назад +4

      Wendover Productions now speak about the mail in Roman Empire

  • @rehtorbF03
    @rehtorbF03 7 лет назад +1870

    A video where you talk about boats, trains and airplanes under the guise of the Post Office, this one checks all the Wendover boxes!

    • @lucasnlc
      @lucasnlc 7 лет назад +13

      Exactly what I just said. There's no sovereignty movement in Brazil, at least not a serious one.

    • @lorenzo_br5803
      @lorenzo_br5803 7 лет назад +5

      +Lucas Carvalho there is one here in the south.

    • @paulo1manso
      @paulo1manso 7 лет назад +5

      No one takes that sovereignty movement in the south as serious lol

    • @Wendoverproductions
      @Wendoverproductions  7 лет назад +134

      If you thought I could get through a video without talking about planes... you were wrong :)

    • @Michael-zx3mr
      @Michael-zx3mr 7 лет назад +5

      I like planes

  • @seejianshin
    @seejianshin 7 лет назад +1391

    oh a video not about planes!
    a few minutes in
    oh

  • @MortalKombat033
    @MortalKombat033 6 лет назад +35

    I work for USPS I carry mail, it is a difficult job at times. Everyone works really hard and they are very helpful. Serving people mail is very nice. I think the USPS is the only government institution I like and respect.

    • @Kevs602
      @Kevs602 Год назад +4

      Ty for working there. I like the post office

  • @itshitime
    @itshitime 7 лет назад +1262

    so united treat the passengers the same way they treated mail bags

    • @rithikkumars1676
      @rithikkumars1676 7 лет назад +24

      thunder2.0 They still do :P

    • @pete5668
      @pete5668 7 лет назад +37

      most airlines do treat passengers like freight these days.

    • @FRN2013
      @FRN2013 7 лет назад +6

      Yes, & American Airlines, too. I'll never fly them again.

    • @jamisco4432
      @jamisco4432 7 лет назад +5

      For the love of god, just stop

    • @pete5668
      @pete5668 7 лет назад +2

      Stop flying. That's the best idea.

  • @LordOrio
    @LordOrio 7 лет назад +1051

    Wendover, no matter wath is videos subject, will find a way to mention airplanes

    • @redgroyp
      @redgroyp 7 лет назад +1

      I do, and I would. lol

    • @SonicSP
      @SonicSP 7 лет назад +15

      Lord Orio It is fairly relevant to the topic though.
      On a side note, this guy is my favorite airline/aeroplane explainer.

    • @LARAUJO_0
      @LARAUJO_0 7 лет назад +9

      wath is videos

  • @AbbreviatedReviews
    @AbbreviatedReviews 7 лет назад +219

    Why would the post office be obsolete today? People are ordering things online more than ever before. Private delivery companies are also relying more on the post office's existing local delivery methods in order to not need tens of thousands of trucks. Its use may be shifting, but it's not disappearing any time soon.

    • @randymagnum6680
      @randymagnum6680 6 лет назад +7

      Endyo have you been to a post office lately? The employees are coasting since their jobs are secure and it's a miserable experience. If it was a for profit business it would have been gone years ago.

    • @andrew-paulclements1502
      @andrew-paulclements1502 6 лет назад +9

      yeah, it lacks the incentive to innovate and work hard that Private Companies have.
      if FEDex is slow and disorganized, it will fail
      the Post Office is slow and disorganized, well it has government funding so it won't fail

    • @darkinertia2
      @darkinertia2 6 лет назад +21

      The usps is doing great and have been operating in the positive for years, the only reason they look like theyre doing bad is from shady accounting shit, they have to have retirement funds for everyone of their employees in full now...and guess who the lobbyist were that pushed for that? Surely not shitty fedex and ups nooo, they wouldnt like to charge you 5 times more and delivery only on weekdays

    • @pastyzach655
      @pastyzach655 6 лет назад +26

      Andrew Clements post office gets zero government funding. It earns all its money. And it usually makes too much money and the government takes it

    • @andrew-paulclements1502
      @andrew-paulclements1502 6 лет назад +4

      Milkman Milk.
      Okay, if thats true
      Then I am still angry the Government takes the surplus money! They could put that money into improving the post office and possibly giving some more benefits to the workers.

  • @BackfallGenius
    @BackfallGenius 7 лет назад +56

    I'm picturing people in the 1820's going "Whoa! I can get messages from Boston to New York in less than seven days! What a miraculous time to be alive! Pity for all the generations that came before us who can't marvel at this huge information technology leap forward." And here I am, saying a similar statement about the power of the internet in 2017, which will be ridiculed 200 years from now.

    • @moensbruno
      @moensbruno 6 лет назад +6

      BackfallGenius i don't know if the internet will be ridiculed because you can't get much faster than instant. What's there to be improved?

    • @sirk603
      @sirk603 4 года назад +2

      Moens Bruno if something faster than light is found, we have our answer

  • @Cool-Man-CJ
    @Cool-Man-CJ 4 года назад +5

    I live in a town with 50 people in Missouri, yet, the 4 story post office still stands to this day!

  • @terrymadill
    @terrymadill 7 лет назад +479

    Wait... Is the Post Office an airline? Otherwise, why is Wendover talking about it?

    • @weissmanhyperion9650
      @weissmanhyperion9650 7 лет назад +38

      No hes saying the Postal Service created the airlines.

    • @babykochinito6367
      @babykochinito6367 7 лет назад +2

      Weissman Hyperion its a joke

    • @the.abhiram.r
      @the.abhiram.r 6 лет назад +3

      USPS planes exist

    • @jacquechanny945
      @jacquechanny945 6 лет назад +1

      Terry Madill Postman Buy Celestron SOUTHMINSTER Svhool Caravan CM0 Birthday CHILLDREN

    • @jacquechanny945
      @jacquechanny945 6 лет назад

      Terry Madill School Caravan SOUTHMINSTER Cm0 Postcard

  • @elijahmasquelier1238
    @elijahmasquelier1238 7 лет назад +491

    always drop whatever I'm doing when I get a wendover notification

    • @TransRainbows
      @TransRainbows 7 лет назад +1

      Elijah Masquelier same, nothing more important than a Wendover video.

    • @rvymvn
      @rvymvn 7 лет назад +1

      Benjamin Hoffmeyer This channel is one of the best out there

    • @dave5194
      @dave5194 7 лет назад +7

      Nooo, not the baby! 😱

    • @hectora7479
      @hectora7479 7 лет назад +1

      Elijah Masquelier Same!!!

    • @aniketphanse673
      @aniketphanse673 7 лет назад +1

      David -flamingsword1 he said whatever he is doing..... ur sick. Lol jk

  • @TheVeryHungrySingularity
    @TheVeryHungrySingularity 7 лет назад +67

    USPS is still my preference for mail and packages.

  • @spaceman2142
    @spaceman2142 7 лет назад +284

    This video gets my _stamp_ of approval!

  • @williamgson4055
    @williamgson4055 7 лет назад +3

    I love this channel so much. The transportation and geographical topics are the most interesting ones imo!

  • @TripHacksDC
    @TripHacksDC 7 лет назад +31

    Amazing history and perspective on the Post Office! Anyone who found this video as interesting as me should check out the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. It's one of the underrated museums in the city and like all Smithsonian Museums, completely free!

  • @AbudBakri
    @AbudBakri 7 лет назад +680

    And now people are discussing when the Post Office will end....

    • @DanielHarris579
      @DanielHarris579 7 лет назад +2

      Dr.StickFigure ubiquitous one

    • @jimmyjimmy5574
      @jimmyjimmy5574 7 лет назад +28

      it is is useless and unbelievably inefficient nowadays.

    • @ieuanhunt552
      @ieuanhunt552 7 лет назад +8

      Dr.StickFigure Dude are you stalking me. You are everywhere.

    • @jeeveey
      @jeeveey 7 лет назад +25

      Shemegory FedEx, Amazon, UPS, and others send packages just fine.

    • @y__h
      @y__h 7 лет назад +1

      Hi

  • @moritzkockritz5710
    @moritzkockritz5710 7 лет назад +89

    interesting that you show a Turkish newspaper (cumhuriyet) as an example (at 3:38)

    • @burakb8708
      @burakb8708 7 лет назад +16

      I saw it and I was about to write a comment about it before seeing this comment.

    • @BoogerBubble218
      @BoogerBubble218 7 лет назад +14

      That's what I came here for as well, was just looking for anyone else that noticed it.

    • @vedatcoskun
      @vedatcoskun 7 лет назад +12

      Cumhuriyeti gorenler likelasin ozaman :)

    • @Daky1001
      @Daky1001 7 лет назад +1

      it's at 3:58

  • @lucasnlc
    @lucasnlc 7 лет назад +260

    I'm still looking for witch "serious, present-day, sovereignty movement within its borders" Brazil has.

    • @sampaiodrezende
      @sampaiodrezende 7 лет назад +78

      Lucas Carvalho He's probably talking about 'The south is my country' movement or the São Paulo separatist movement, but yeah, both are in no way serious nor important.

    • @lucasnlc
      @lucasnlc 7 лет назад +104

      Rafael Rezende I also think so, but if that's the case the Texas sovereignty movement should also be considered serious. Although the Texan movement is incredibly much more spread than the Brazilians ones.

    • @sampaiodrezende
      @sampaiodrezende 7 лет назад +20

      Lucas Carvalho Agreed. I thought about Alaska, but Texas is a more high profile case.

    • @MichaelSteeves
      @MichaelSteeves 7 лет назад +82

      Same with Canada. Quebec talks about it but I can't call it serious or current.

    • @DeltaGreenA
      @DeltaGreenA 7 лет назад +33

      Yeah, I just posted something to that effect as well. Plus, Brazil today is the largest monolingual country in the world, seeing as the US now has a sizable Spanish-speaking minority.

  • @sven8947
    @sven8947 7 лет назад +94

    3:58 Yes, Americans love Turkish newspapers 😂😂

    • @DaL33T5
      @DaL33T5 6 лет назад +4

      Well, any American who does, will have no problem getting them, thanks to our post office!

  • @michaeldaugustine9249
    @michaeldaugustine9249 7 лет назад +2

    It's amazing how we went from a time when it took weeks to travel from Boston to New York, to now where it takes less than a day to travel from New York to Los Angeles

  • @AlwaysAllyCat
    @AlwaysAllyCat 4 года назад +10

    been thinking about this video a lot lately....

    • @lisettedevars9423
      @lisettedevars9423 4 года назад

      @AlwaysAllyCat Me too. The United States Postal Service is amazing and anyone that says different is a liar.

  • @briancox2721
    @briancox2721 7 лет назад

    The post office / rail station makes your town legitimate thing is still in effect to this day. In rural Michigan, there are small towns like Irving, Freeport, and Bowne Center that are seemingly in the middle of nowhere with regards to the roads. But overlay an old railroad map, and they are all on the line between larger towns and cities to the north west and south east. Most were fuel and water stops for the locomotives.

  • @dorkboi267
    @dorkboi267 7 лет назад +16

    Some of us still depend on the post office. Just last week I sent a box cross country for $17 and some change. I couldn't have done it without the post office.

  • @caesardgreatest
    @caesardgreatest 6 лет назад +2

    I challenge your last statement of the post office being obsolete today. I'm still getting Amazon deliveries on Sundays, and having most of my online orders delivered earlier than expected.

  • @ieuanhunt552
    @ieuanhunt552 7 лет назад +321

    I'm not impressed. The Mongols pulled off the Pony Express in the 13th century

    • @ymeynot0405
      @ymeynot0405 7 лет назад +88

      +Leaun Hunt
      Yea but they only delivered on type of package.... death.

    • @MZhomart
      @MZhomart 7 лет назад +10

      Yep, Mongol Empire's Yam route in around 1200s was the biggest at the time. It's in the history of infamous Russia Post.

    • @Julianna.Domina
      @Julianna.Domina 7 лет назад +10

      Ieuan Hunt To be fair that was across the plains with few if any major obstacles

    • @johnruthger550
      @johnruthger550 7 лет назад +10

      it was still a feat, though. they set up waystations like every 20 kilometers. they definitely knew a thing or two about proper infrastructure.

    • @JoeNetland
      @JoeNetland 7 лет назад +35

      And the Romans pulled it off as early as in the 1st century, and even they got inspired by the ancient Persians who had a somewhat similar system even earlier than that.

  • @franklyjoemoe
    @franklyjoemoe 7 лет назад

    This is one of the coolest American history videos I've seen and also makes me proud of my country. Keep up the good work man. Because these videos are not only entertaining but educational.

  • @LoganNagol
    @LoganNagol 7 лет назад +3

    Such a high production looking video. Keep up the good work!

  • @martiawesome
    @martiawesome 7 лет назад

    hats off to wendover productions..i can already tell how patriotic you are and how much you love our great country...

  • @wittolwanderer6358
    @wittolwanderer6358 4 года назад +5

    Relevant again. Thanks :)

  • @abiku2923
    @abiku2923 7 лет назад +1

    as a new postal worker, I'm proud of what's in this video! I have been, however, very curious about how mail systems in other country's work. I haven't been able to find much on China, for instance.

  • @IronBroccoli
    @IronBroccoli 7 лет назад +8

    This reminds me of the advantage that historians attribute to why the Mongols held so much of the China region.

  • @Raptor747
    @Raptor747 7 лет назад +2

    This was an excellent video. I absolutely loved it. Very insightful, and it provides a great perspective over such a large period of history.

  • @dpink4832
    @dpink4832 7 лет назад +27

    sitting in my USPS truck listening to this..

    • @TommyTomTompkins
      @TommyTomTompkins 7 лет назад +2

      D Pink you whipping ain't it fam... poetic Justice

    • @renaclara
      @renaclara 4 года назад +1

      #postalproud. I got the book. It's amazing

    • @lisettedevars9423
      @lisettedevars9423 4 года назад

      @D Pink Thank you so much for your service. The USPS is the only service that delivers by every method including using pack animals to deliver to a Native American tribe that lives at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You're all amazing and the majority of us couldn't or wouldn't do the work you do faithfully every day. Keep up the great work.

    • @lisettedevars9423
      @lisettedevars9423 4 года назад

      @@renaclara #postalproud #postalreliable #postalforever

  • @teddybruscie
    @teddybruscie 6 лет назад +2

    The Post Office isn't obsolete. Post Office has to serve everyone. Private services can deny service to people who live in places too expensive to deliver to. That's why USPS is still important. No matter what they have to deliver your package where it needs to go.

  • @lazyperfectionist1
    @lazyperfectionist1 7 лет назад +16

    No small share of the credit goes to the Post Office, and the Post Office was never intended to be for-profit, but remember, that's because the Post Office is funded by a well-funded federal government, and the federal government is well funded because they abolished the Articles of Confederation and established the Constitution, instead. The Articles of Confederation did not give the federal government the authority to levy taxes, and so, under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was frequently underfunded. The Constitution has never had this problem. Whatever credit goes to the Post Office, it was made possible by the Constitution.

    • @Yay295
      @Yay295 4 года назад +2

      "the Post Office is funded by a well-funded federal government"
      No, it's not. The Postal Service is entirely self-funded and receives no tax money from the rest of the government.

  • @TheGerm24
    @TheGerm24 7 лет назад

    I went to a railroad museum this weekend and saw a mail car. Pretty cool to see a historical photo that matches. Thanks for another great video.

  • @KyleLi
    @KyleLi 7 лет назад +17

    This was one of the most informative videos I've seen :D

  • @ksh6
    @ksh6 7 лет назад

    I was just talking about latency and ping on Reddit and this video popped up at the right time!
    The ping between US east and west coast came down from few weeks to less than 50milli seconds today! The latency around the world is less than a second, and this is what makes it possible for people around the globe to watch this video simultaneously just as when you upload it.

  • @wr85487
    @wr85487 7 лет назад +11

    Well, to be fair, U.S. not having a serious sovereignty movement within its borders has more to do with ruthlessly massacring anybody who can make such sovereign claims; though I'm sure the postal office contributed to reinforcing the national unity. If the U.S. allowed most of the native Americans to live, it would have a serious crisis of sovereignty today.
    Other than this, as usual, great video! Love channels that cover seemingly boring yet extremely important (and at least for me fascinating) topics like this!

    • @greatwolf5372
      @greatwolf5372 7 лет назад +13

      WRC Most natives died of diseases not government massacres.

    • @rafaelrafaelrafael
      @rafaelrafaelrafael 7 лет назад +1

      That sounds reasonable, given that Brazil doesn't have a serious separatist movement, probably for the same reason.

  • @ShonTolliverMusic
    @ShonTolliverMusic 7 лет назад +1

    I implore you, whenever visiting DC, go to the National Postal Museum. It's a hidden gem. Rarely a crowd and full of amazing exhibits, it's in my top 5 museums in DC.

  • @AlaskaSkidood
    @AlaskaSkidood 7 лет назад +38

    Great video. But what about Alaska? The airplane made Alaska.

    • @ЕмилЕфендулов
      @ЕмилЕфендулов 7 лет назад +3

      Actually Russians not giving a sh*t about the cold made Alaska. Airplanes furthered it's development.

    • @mixiekins
      @mixiekins 7 лет назад +1

      I wonder what other things contributed, as far as I know oil didn't help in this case. Didn't they find oil there long after towns were founded in Alaska? Maybe it was the fishing industry and military stations way back in the beginning (if anything, at least the military brought Bob Ross there, lol!)... dunno, would love to find out, though.

  • @chrstfer2452
    @chrstfer2452 7 лет назад +1

    Awesome video! Really gives one a sense of how complicated and integral the mail system is

  • @jeksnek
    @jeksnek 7 лет назад +71

    anyone else see that dot at 4:57 lines up with that lake in canada?

    • @Atticblur
      @Atticblur 7 лет назад +3

      holy shit, the video is good but that insane!

    • @thatguythere98
      @thatguythere98 7 лет назад

      Panda or Whatever cannot unsee

    • @Jombo1
      @Jombo1 7 лет назад +1

      I dont see it.

    • @dobraf
      @dobraf 7 лет назад +2

      There are two actually. When the video transitions from the black and white photo at 4:57 to the North America map at 5:00, a black spot in the upper middle of the photo becomes Lake Claire in Alberta. Also, a tiny spot a little lower and slightly to the right of the center becomes Dog Lake in Ontario.
      Agree with +Thatguythere98 -- once you see them, you can't unsee them.

  • @DublinDapper
    @DublinDapper 7 лет назад +1

    What a video...you should be winning awards for this delivery of content!! Well done sir

  • @elenpop2
    @elenpop2 7 лет назад +33

    9:15 Does Brazil have a sovereignty movement I'm not aware of?

    • @kaysas9686
      @kaysas9686 7 лет назад +7

      Not a serious one

    • @92alexmaster
      @92alexmaster 7 лет назад +12

      There is some for the southern states, but they are less serious than the ones in Texas and California.

    • @elenpop2
      @elenpop2 7 лет назад +1

      Oh well thanks for reminding me that the US actually has minor sovereignty movements as well in Texas and California. I'm very aware of Canada's Quebec issue and China's Xinjiang and Tibet issues. I also assumed Russia could have some due to being a Russian Empire and Soviet Union forcing ethnicities together.

    • @PoliticalOutcast
      @PoliticalOutcast 7 лет назад +7

      Texit and Calexit aren't serious at all, lol

    • @VTeixex
      @VTeixex 7 лет назад +3

      neither are the ones in Brazil

  • @bradwconnors
    @bradwconnors 7 лет назад +1

    LOVE the music. Fantastic topic. Can't get enough of this channel.

  • @MidnightsDeluxe
    @MidnightsDeluxe 7 лет назад +8

    Make a video on the interstate system

  • @edvaira6891
    @edvaira6891 7 лет назад +1

    The transcontinental railroad opened in 1869 not 1863 (completed in May 1869 in Promontory point, Utah)

  • @visualonestudio
    @visualonestudio 5 лет назад +2

    My brother is a mailman. We (America) may have lots of problems, but watching this video reminds me that we can be proud, united and patriotic about at least one thing, our excellent postal service.

  • @oostindischer6670
    @oostindischer6670 7 лет назад +17

    i'm a simple man, i see wendover, i press like

  • @dhruv6825
    @dhruv6825 7 лет назад +1

    I love your channel, it is so informative and the best thanks for producing great work, keep it up

  • @MrSafa61
    @MrSafa61 7 лет назад +7

    3:57 WOW! I never knew the americans read the Cumhuriyet! (lmao just kidding of course I knew they read that)

  • @theonlytraviscox
    @theonlytraviscox 7 лет назад

    Recently I have heard a couple podcasts on the Post Office (think Planet Money and Backstory). When I saw the title I almost didn't click because its a story I thought I knew, but then I noticed it was a Wendover Productions video and knew it would have a new insightful take, which it did. Thank you for all of your videos.

  • @michaelpapadopoulos6054
    @michaelpapadopoulos6054 7 лет назад +11

    wait...
    sovereignity movements (plz don't comment on spelling)
    canada: quebec
    china : tibet
    russia : chechnya
    brazil : ????

    • @kingjames4886
      @kingjames4886 6 лет назад +2

      I'd hardly call quebec a movement...

    • @bernardobenaduce9898
      @bernardobenaduce9898 6 лет назад +1

      There is a secession southern Brazilian movement but I guarantee you IT IS NOT as serious as the Chinese or Russian one. It basically a bunch of old people yelling how great brazil used to be.

    • @RuthCuadrado
      @RuthCuadrado 6 лет назад

      The brazil movement is less serious than the Texan one in the US, but I guess without that falacy, we wouldn't have such a strong ending to this topic.

    • @scythal
      @scythal 3 года назад

      @@kingjames4886 cascadia?

  • @cece160797
    @cece160797 7 лет назад

    These vids are alwaus so high-quality, its incredible

  • @Jarl_69
    @Jarl_69 7 лет назад +5

    9:35 I thought he was about to say "Made America Great Again"...

  • @Star841
    @Star841 7 лет назад

    My rental company only accepts checks. To mail it by USPS: .49 cents. Via UPS or FedEx: starts at $7 for domestic delivery. My uncle lives in Bali, Indonesia. Sending a letter to him costs $1.87. There is still a need for the USPS.

  • @marius4iasi
    @marius4iasi 7 лет назад +16

    Man, USA owes so much to Kevin Costner!

  • @SeñorJG
    @SeñorJG 5 лет назад

    By far the best video that I watched out of all them. It shows the most important innovations that made this country so amazing. Love your vids

  • @hahayeah2779
    @hahayeah2779 7 лет назад +4

    5:43 Fort Laramie! Sigh... Ol' Oregon Trail.

  • @Scriptorsilentum
    @Scriptorsilentum 4 года назад

    Ben Franklin appointed first Post-Master General for British North America. Later the American PMG.
    Railway post offices are British: Just a few years after Rowland Hill introduced prepaid adhesive coupons for mail - called them postage stamps - the Royal Mail (open to the paying public since 1665) experimented with a railway run of mail from London to Edinburgh with sorting happening in a modified postal car. Immediate success. Thereafter EVERYWHERE in the British Empire and other countries rail car sorting became the norm. This was early 1840's in UK.
    Railway Post Offices were developed in Canada. Some villages or towns were too new, too small for a PO so the Royal Mail leased rail cars, outfit them appropriately and made scheduled stops along lines to receive (and sort) outbound mail and received customers in a small office front in the car and had mail ready for recipients. US, Australia, India, South Africa all copied.
    USPS could revitalise today if not for political meddling (fedex, ups anyone?) and be great again.
    Very interesting video. A PO put people in touch with their national govt and people around the WORLD. It was a sign the area was settled well enough something as innocuous as a PO could exist - a settlement had become a town.

  • @blumrich1970
    @blumrich1970 5 лет назад +7

    "The post office may be obsolete..."
    WTF?

  • @rubbers3
    @rubbers3 7 лет назад

    A thing that I might add to this - in the video you made it seem like "pony express" was an american invention, but it was well known in europe as even in the middle ages, but back then, messengers traveling like that would be at service only for more wealthy ones, like kings, dukes, magnates and others like that. Plus - important messages would not be written on paper, but the messenger would have to memorise it. But yeah, switching horses in every couple villages was known back then.

  • @owenmcgrath1127
    @owenmcgrath1127 7 лет назад +6

    1:24 what the hell does "almost more" mean? less?

  • @SpaceEngineerErich
    @SpaceEngineerErich 7 лет назад

    I travel a lot and have been looking for a new carry on. That Away suitcase is perfect!

  • @MarcMethotisAwesome
    @MarcMethotisAwesome 7 лет назад +3

    I would remove the part where you allude that the US had no popular sovereign movements during the Post Office movement or that the other countries had this issue due to how hard communication was/is as this is a very crudely flushed out idea and false. There are many huge movements that took place since the PO's inception: A big one would be during the America Civil War, Hawaii's movement, the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP), Cascadia, Puerto Rico... and the list goes on.
    There's also the fallacy that the other countries had a harder time communicating throughout their country (yes, not said explicitly, but how you structured your statement makes it so). Canada's movements, even to do this day is due to the non-homogeneous population that resides in it and their right to express themselves. Quebec for example is that they are quite culturally different, they are the true remainder of New-France, not just because they speak French.
    This is quite a complex matter that you grossly oversimplified. The way you stated this makes it sound like the US had the only adequate communication service, which is also false.

    • @RuthCuadrado
      @RuthCuadrado 6 лет назад

      And also, Brazil most definitely does not have a sovereign movement.

  • @TeknoGameplays
    @TeknoGameplays 7 лет назад

    Just discovered you have the link to the script on the description. Really neat, thanks WendoverPro.

  • @Pinkerpops
    @Pinkerpops 7 лет назад +19

    Great video as always, but as a Nebraskan I cringed how you pronounced Kearny. It's phonetically pronounced "Car-nee". I know us Nebraskans are we weird. We also pronounce places like Norfolk as "Nor-fork".

    • @DJDawsonEdge
      @DJDawsonEdge 7 лет назад

      Yeah I though the same thing, I'm from Nebraska too

    • @whollyhandgrenade13
      @whollyhandgrenade13 7 лет назад +2

      I don't know if it's just a Nebraska thing. We pronounce Kearny the same way in Pennsylvania. I believe it's the original Irish pronunciation.

    • @Pinkerpops
      @Pinkerpops 7 лет назад

      It must be. It's fascinating because most of eastern Nebraska (where Kearny is) was settled by Pennsylvanian Amish. Most of our counties' names have Pennsylvanian roots like "Lancaster" and "York".

    • @eruno_
      @eruno_ 7 лет назад +2

      I think Norfolk in England is pronounced the same way, I might be wrong though

    • @pickleinspector6841
      @pickleinspector6841 7 лет назад +2

      コイノ/ Koino no it's not, it's more like Nor-fok

  • @glsapp23
    @glsapp23 7 лет назад

    Excellent work on an often overlooked, underappreciated, historical important subject.

  • @Callesson93
    @Callesson93 7 лет назад +22

    Seems heavily inspired by that 99% Invisible episode. You know which one.

    • @PSJulie
      @PSJulie 7 лет назад +5

      I'm shocked the first 99% Invisible comment is so low down.

    • @Wendoverproductions
      @Wendoverproductions  7 лет назад +10

      More inspired by the book that inspired that 99pi episode (the one mentioned at the beginning), but I've heard that episode as well!

    • @SilencedTomato
      @SilencedTomato 7 лет назад +2

      I ctrl+f-searched it because i could not believe i m the only one who noticed that. Especially because the voice sounds a lot like Roman Mars' voice.

    • @sijiachen
      @sijiachen 7 лет назад +2

      Man... I just listened to that episode earlier this day. Freaky

    • @AbdallahAberouchA
      @AbdallahAberouchA 7 лет назад +2

      Came here to say exactly this

  • @IAmLeutrimTopalli
    @IAmLeutrimTopalli 7 лет назад

    I exclusively use USPS for ebay, and so do like 90% of ebayers. No one else will allow you to send an 8 oz package to california from florida with tracking for $2.61. In 3 days I might add.

  • @Wish-and-Hope
    @Wish-and-Hope 7 лет назад +34

    What? An enterprise not focused on profit, subsidized by the government, aiming to improve society? HERESY! Quick, get the Private-Public-Partnership-Priest in here to perform a capitalism!

    • @Synodalian
      @Synodalian 7 лет назад +6

      Without government, who would send the mail?

    • @lego501stTrigger
      @lego501stTrigger 7 лет назад

      Idk, in Canada we sold off our postal service, and there aren't many people who've done anything about it

    • @Longlius
      @Longlius 7 лет назад +6

      But that's the thing - the Post Office probably wouldn't have flourished as well without the public-private partnership. Partnering with the private railroads explosively increased the efficiency of the postal service. I'm not saying that we should privatize the post office or anything, I'm just saying that you shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater on this one.

    • @mrincredible8623
      @mrincredible8623 6 лет назад

      Exter that's bullshit....I work for Canada Post....it's still very much pic service right here in case ada with zero private owners

    • @baronvonlimbourgh1716
      @baronvonlimbourgh1716 5 лет назад

      Lol. That was really funny. 100 internet points for you.

  • @PoilyGames
    @PoilyGames 7 лет назад

    I've been studying for exams for the past 2 weeks non stop. Watching this video is my only break, love wendover productions

  • @johnparks3447
    @johnparks3447 7 лет назад +13

    As a Canadian, I can tell you that there is absolutely no major sovereignty movement. You might be thinking of Quebec, but their sovereignty movement has almost completely died.

    • @greatwolf5372
      @greatwolf5372 7 лет назад +10

      X GAMINGTACO X 49% of Quebec voted to leave Canada in 1995. It wasn't that long ago.

    • @malyngar4854
      @malyngar4854 7 лет назад

      X GAMINGTACO X naw that shit is still alive some what British lite

  • @crbalthazar
    @crbalthazar 7 лет назад +1

    Hi!
    I am Brazilian and as far as I know, we don't have any serious "sovereignty movement within our boarders", neither! But I see the point you're trying to prove.
    Your videos are definitely amazing. keep it coming!

  • @TheJaredtheJaredlong
    @TheJaredtheJaredlong 7 лет назад +5

    Wait, there are countries with sovereignty movements?

    • @RuthCuadrado
      @RuthCuadrado 6 лет назад

      Definitely not Brazil. That's just a made up fact.

  • @DustyBilbo
    @DustyBilbo 7 лет назад +1

    This video brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.

  • @napoleonbonaparte7686
    @napoleonbonaparte7686 4 года назад +6

    Now Trump Wants To Dismantle It

    • @napoleonbonaparte7686
      @napoleonbonaparte7686 4 года назад +2

      It's really Sad when Everything is Politicised by a Sitting president

    • @lisettedevars9423
      @lisettedevars9423 4 года назад

      @@napoleonbonaparte7686 So true and he won't win this fight. USPS forever.

  • @oyahfftlisawsome
    @oyahfftlisawsome 7 лет назад

    Great sponsor to have because I was looking to buy a suitcase and I want to do some time lapse video from the top of the suitcase so this was perfect.

  • @TomSistermans
    @TomSistermans 7 лет назад +90

    don't Texas and California want to get out of the union?

    • @jacobgarrison1510
      @jacobgarrison1510 7 лет назад +58

      Tom Sistermans He said serious sovereignty movement. Not a trendy hashtag and a joke about Texas' orgins.

    • @MrPhilsterable
      @MrPhilsterable 7 лет назад +37

      Those movements are extremely tiny and not particularly serious.

    • @timothymclean
      @timothymclean 7 лет назад +38

      There are probably more Texans in the Californian separatist movement than Californians.

    • @technoserf_digital
      @technoserf_digital 7 лет назад +24

      Opposite. Several hundred thousand Californians move to Texas every year. lol The Texas secessionist movement got more traction under Obama, while the California secessionist government got more traction under Trump. Neither movement is nationalistic, they're, ironically, protest movements related to national politics.

    • @Fire-in-the-sky
      @Fire-in-the-sky 7 лет назад +10

      no. just because a tiny minority wants out, doesnt mean the whole state wants it.

  • @jadenaaronbrown1232
    @jadenaaronbrown1232 7 лет назад

    I really love listening to your voice and learning new facts from you

  • @easonmurphree4353
    @easonmurphree4353 7 лет назад +6

    Your voice is at a Morgan Freeman level.

  • @tahirahmed1776
    @tahirahmed1776 5 лет назад

    From horses to trains and then planes Post Office now a great gain for all of us in all countires states, cities...Today is a World Post Office Day and great work for Postal System across the globe to make it important not only for delivery letters but Post Office of any village county matters a lot...Nowadays with just tickets of some pennies take your letter in hours to a different state great achievement and its wonderful history will keep it alive always...P.O. Numbers so important .

  • @syncout9586
    @syncout9586 7 лет назад +23

    9:18 *ahem* Texas *ahem*

    • @urinstein1864
      @urinstein1864 7 лет назад +5

      SyncOut 226 Actually I was thinking of Puerto Rico.

    • @ananonymoussource
      @ananonymoussource 7 лет назад +10

      SyncOut 226
      Key word there is Serious

    • @TheFPSTech
      @TheFPSTech 7 лет назад

      Aiden18734 the texit is actually very big AND for real

    • @danielpoole7542
      @danielpoole7542 7 лет назад +1

      It's not really serious

    • @PoweDiePie
      @PoweDiePie 7 лет назад +4

      +Thundercast Tech
      By very big, do you mean less than 5%? Because that's what you're looking at.

  • @alsifjlasieflooo
    @alsifjlasieflooo 7 лет назад

    I only recently discovered this channel but I'm already hooked.

  • @lfb3136
    @lfb3136 7 лет назад +8

    21 views but 63 likes. nice RUclips

  • @andrewramos8486
    @andrewramos8486 7 лет назад +1

    I really love your informative videos. Could you do one about the history of the Interstate System?

  • @eerereps
    @eerereps 7 лет назад +5

    n-th

  • @ride0RgetR0DE0n
    @ride0RgetR0DE0n 7 лет назад

    god I get such a warm and fuzzy feeling learning about the history of this wonderful country

  • @brent9129
    @brent9129 7 лет назад +1

    This is a great time to focus on things that bring us together

  • @mike95826
    @mike95826 5 лет назад

    It greatly expanded commerce. Anyone, no matter where they were on the continent could look up in a Sears and Roebuck catalog almost anything they needed or wanted up to and including a covered wagon and get it delivered within a month or so. The video touched on it but it probably should have a complete video on how the post office started and expanded POST ROADS that now go by a different name INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS.

  • @cdale139
    @cdale139 6 лет назад

    One of my favorite videos you've made. I've rewatched it at least 10 times!

  • @Pyrrhic.
    @Pyrrhic. 7 лет назад +1

    Now I know what the Libertarians would say, "This is big government, wasteful spending. We need to get rid of the post office because private enterprise will do it better". Lol, tell FEDEX or UPS to ship stuff at a loss for social utility, they will turn around and ask for money from taxpayers.

  • @RBrownSalazar
    @RBrownSalazar 4 года назад

    How the first airmail pilots used to find their way? They were guided by giant concrete arrows built on the ground, called Beacon Stations. "They were at the base of 50 foot skeleton towers that had a 24" or 36" rotating beacon and in the early days painted Chrome Yellow. Where electricity was unavailable they had a generator to power the beacon.They pointed to the next higher numbered beacon station, directing the pilot along his route. All arrows pointed east on the west-east airways and north on the south-north airways. They were built between December 1926 and November 1932, when metal arrows became the standard."

  • @Shipwright1918
    @Shipwright1918 6 лет назад

    The transcontinental railroad wasn't opened in 1863, it was completed in 1869, specifically on May 10th, 1869.
    On a related note, the ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah, was one of the first live national telecommunications transmissions, via telegraph, where the final blows to drive in the last railroad spike were transmitted as they happened via a contact switch mounted to the hammer (the last swing actually missed, but the telegrapher sent it anyway).
    The message was as follows
    "PROMONTORY-We have done praying. The spike is about to be presented.
    CHICAGO-We understand. All are ready in the East.
    PROMONTORY:All ready now. The spike will soon be driven. The signal will be three dots for the commencement of blows.
    1......2......3......DONE."

  • @BobbyIronsights
    @BobbyIronsights 7 лет назад

    I love wendover productions, they're informative, intelligent, and have a good pace to them.

  • @AnhWaitForItNgo
    @AnhWaitForItNgo 7 лет назад +1

    Thank you for the videos. I learned a lot from your channel. keep up the great work

  • @InvictvsNox
    @InvictvsNox 7 лет назад

    I do wish you had made mention of Lysander Spooner's private company and how competition has shaped the Postal Service as well.
    But as always, your videos are amazingly done. Loved the music a whole lot on this one too.

  • @Krasi06
    @Krasi06 7 лет назад

    Amazing videos and topics every time! I love this channel! Keep up the good job!

  • @drabberfrog
    @drabberfrog 2 года назад +1

    How is the post office obsolete? Last time I checked you can't email a package to someone LOL.