Pomeroy, Independent Mails of Upstate NY is the first in a series of Guides entitled America's Private Posts. The series chronicles the private mail-carrying companies of the mid to late 1800's that challenged the US Government's Postal Service. From the beginning, the US government had a monopoly on carrying the country's mail, but it abused the role because of various lucrative contracts, cronyism, and corruption, Postal rates were so high that entrepreneurs entered the market with lower rates and faster deliveries. The government finally had to enact laws to shut them down. However, this entrepreneurial American spirit forced lower rates and a stronger postal system as America expanded westward., David, Wilcox, , David R . Wilcox| 9781304248251 | 331PAGES