In 1826, President John Quincy Adams shared with Congress how the rapid growth of the U.S. Post Office was effecting objects "among the choicest comforts and enjoyments of social life". This was 50 years or so before the Post Office began delivering home goods or produce of any kind, so it seems most likely that he was referring to explosion of amusement and entertainment magazines sold on subscription and delivered to the thousands of Post Offices around the nation.
Magazines in America had been around since 1741 when Andrew Bradford's "American Magazine" first was published. These early magazines offered miscellaneous entertainment and some literary works and tended to appeal to a more generalized audience with a few more specialized publications such as the "American Journal of Science" appearing in the 1800s. These early magazines tended to be geared to a very well-educated audience, tended to be very expensive and were limited to just a few thousand readers. Then around 1826, the number and reach of magazines in America began a period of rapid expansion. American magazines targeted a much wider audience and lost some of the intellectual air as they began to focus more on amusement and entertainment. It was also during this period, that magazines produced for and edited by women became increasingly popular. One of the most successful magazines in the years to follow was Godey's Lady Book, first published in 1830. Godey's Lady's Book contained poems, essays and artwork from famous writers and artists of the day. These magazines as President John Quincy Adams explained were "among the choicest comforts and enjoyments of social life", and so much of their success was owed to the U.S. Postal service.
The first magazines were only sold at newsstands, but as the postal service expanded and added new roads and postal services the magazines began to be sold by subscription and delivered to post offices all around the nation. In 1826 alone, 714 new post offices were added and just the increase alone of the post office over the years from 1823 to 1826 was more than all of the receipts collected since the beginning of the Post Office. With new canals like the Erie canal, and roads macadamized roads like the Cumberland mail, the annual miles traveled in 1826 was 260,000 more than in 1825 plus another 70,000 miles on horseback. The postal service was growing so fast, that it even out-paced the rapid growth of the U.S. population. In 1826, President John Quincy Adams spoke of the match made in heaven between the U.S. Postal service and Magazine subscriptions.
"During the same period contracts for additional transportation of the mail in stages for about 260,000 miles have been made, and for 70,000 miles annually on horse back. 714 new post offices have been established within the year, and the increase of revenue within the last 3 years, as well as the augmentation of the transportation by mail, is more than equal to the whole amount of receipts and of mail conveyance at the commencement of the present century, when the seat of the General Government was removed to this place. When we reflect that the objects effected by the transportation of the mail are among the choicest comforts and enjoyments of social life, it is pleasing to observe that the dissemination of them to every corner of our country has out-stripped in their increase even the rapid march of our population."Just one year earlier, Adams shared a similar message, but focused on the delivery of political newspapers by the U.S. Post office. You can read more about it here.
In 1827, Adams shared more success of the Post Office, this time he just presented the facts of the situation. In less than 10 years, the receipts of the Post Office had more than doubled, and the number of post offices had increased to 7000.
The report from the PostMaster General exhibits the condition of that Department as highly satisfactory for the present and still more promising for the future. Its receipts for the year ending 1827-07-01 amounted to $1,473,551, and exceeded its expenditures by upward of $100,000. It can not be an over sanguine estimate to predict that in less than 10 years, of which half have elapsed, the receipts will have been more than doubled.
In the mean time a reduced expenditure upon established routes has kept pace with increased facilities of public accommodation and additional services have been obtained at reduced rates of compensation. Within the last year the transportation of the mail in stages has been greatly augmented. The number of post offices has been increased to 7,000, and it may be anticipated that while the facilities of intercourse between fellow citizens in person or by correspondence will soon be carried to the door of every villager in the Union, a yearly surplus of revenue will accrue which may be applied as the wisdom of Congress under the exercise of their constitutional powers may devise for the further establishment and improvement of the public roads, or by adding still further to the facilities in the transportation of the mails. Of the indications of the prosperous condition of our country, none can be more pleasing than those presented by the multiplying relations of personal and intimate intercourse between the citizens of the Union dwelling at the remotest distances from each other.
References
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). History of publishing - Magazine publishing. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/publishing/Magazine-publishing [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].Magazines.com. (2018). History of Magazines | Magazines.com. [online] Available at: https://www.magazines.com/history-of-magazines [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). John Quincy Adams: Second Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29468 [Accessed 6 Apr. 2018].
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