In 1838, the U.S. Post Office Department found itself in a tight financial spot. With expenses outpacing revenue by over $417,000—a deficit of nearly 10%—postal officials were forced to make difficult decisions. That year, dozens of mail routes were curtailed, meaning they were either discontinued, shortened, or reduced in frequency. The full list of these changes, compiled in Postmaster General Amos Kendall’s annual report, ran to over 100 pages.
Some of the routes affected included mail service from Michigan City, Indiana to Peoria, Illinois, and from Albany to Waterford, New York. These weren’t isolated adjustments—they were part of a broad retrenchment affecting communities across the country.
These curtailments weren’t just practical decisions—they were also mandated by law. In response to earlier concerns about accountability and overspending, Congress passed a major reform act on July 2, 1836, restructuring the Post Office Department. Section 22, Article 2 of that act required the Postmaster General to report annually to Congress on all changes to mail contracts—including any extra allowances to contractors or cutbacks in service.
Fulfilling that obligation, Kendall wrote:
"I have also the honor, in pursuance of the 2d article of the 22d section of the said act, to transmit, herewith, a report of allowances to contractors within the year preceding the 1st of July, 1838, together with a report of curtailments of mail transportation and pay within the same year aforesaid."
Even President Martin Van Buren addressed the issue in his annual State of the Union Address. He downplayed the scale, describing it as a “moderate curtailment” but admitted it was necessary: “A moderate curtailment of mail service consequently became necessary, and has been effected, to shield the Department against the danger of embarrassment.” In the language of the day, “embarrassment” meant financial failure—the inability to meet contractual obligations or pay contractors. Van Buren’s message also painted a broader picture of the postal system’s health: over 134,000 miles of post roads in operation, 12,553 post offices, and an annual transportation volume exceeding 34 million miles. Despite the short-term cuts, Van Buren expressed confidence in the Post Office’s future, predicting that it would soon resume its “onward course in the march of improvement.”
Here is the full excerpt from President Van Buren's 1838 report:
"The progress and condition of the Post-Office Department will be seen by reference to the report of the Postmaster-General. The extent of post-roads covered by mail contracts is stated to be 134,818 miles, and the annual transportation upon them 34,580,202 miles. The number of post-offices in the United States is 12,553, and rapidly increasing. The gross revenue for the year ending on the 30th day of June last was $4,262,145; the accruing expenditures, $4,680,068; excess of expenditures, $417,923. This has been made up out of the surplus previously on hand. The cash on hand on the 1st instant was $314,068. The revenue for the year ending June 30, 1838, was $161,540 more than that for the year ending June 30, 1837. The expenditures of the Department had been graduated upon the anticipation of a largely increased revenue. A moderate curtailment of mail service consequently became necessary, and has been effected, to shield the Department against the danger of embarrassment. Its revenue is now improving, and it will soon resume its onward course in the march of improvement."
In this same address, President Van Buren also raised two concerns about the Post Office. He noted that laws governing railroad mail service were inadequate, leaving the Department vulnerable to unreliable service and unreasonable demands from rail companies. He also urged Congress to provide a more secure, fire-resistant building, warning that the Department’s vital books and papers were in constant danger from the combustible structure then in use.
"Your particular attention is requested to so much of the Postmaster-Generals report as relates to the transportation of the mails upon railroads. The laws on that subject do not seem adequate to secure that service, now become almost essential to the public interests, and at the same time protect the Department from combinations and unreasonable demands.
Nor can I too earnestly request your attention to the necessity of providing a more secure building for this Department. The danger of destruction to which its important books and papers are continually exposed, as well from the highly combustible character of the building occupied as from that of others in the vicinity, calls loudly for prompt action."
References
Van Buren, Martin. Second Annual Message. The American Presidency Project, 3 Dec. 1838, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/second-annual-message-4.
United States Post Office Department. Report of Allowances to Contractors, Within the Year Preceding 1st July, 1838: Together with a Report of the Curtailments of Mail Transportation and Pay, During the Year Aforesaid. Government Printing Office, 1839. Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2022688764/.
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