<Li> Postal Clause of the United States Constitution </Li> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.usps.com </Td> </Tr> <P> The United States Postal Service (USPS; also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service) is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States . It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution . </P> <P> The U.S. Mail traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general . The Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation, elevated to a cabinet - level department in 1872, and transformed in 1971 into the U.S. Postal Service as an agency of the U.S. government . </P>

Is the us post office a private company