Creswell, John Angel James, 1828–91, U.S. Postmaster General (1869–74), b. Port Deposit, Md. He was a lawyer, U.S. Representative (1863–65), and U.S. Senator (1865–67), but his important work was done later as Postmaster General. He reorganized the Post Office Dept. to meet the expanding needs of the United States. One-cent post cards were introduced, postal treaties were revised, postal laws were recodified, money-order business was facilitated, free delivery was extended, methods of contracting with railways were improved, and the franking privilege was limited. Some reforms that Creswell advocated, such as a postal savings bank and postal telegraph, were adopted later.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies
