美国邮政历史小故事.doc

Pony ExpressInception and foundingThe idea of a fast mail route to the Pacific coast was prompted largely by Californias new found prominence and its rapidly growing population. After gold was discovered there in 1848, thousands of prospectors, investors and businessmen made their way to California, at that time a new territory of the U.S. By 1850, California entered the Union as a free state. By 1860, the population had grown to 380,000.The demand for a faster way to get mail and other communications to and from this westernmost state became even greater as the American Civil War approached.In the late 1850s, William Russell, Alexander Majors, and William Wad dell were the three founders of the Pony Express. They were already in the freighting and dray age business. At the peak of the operations, they employed 6,000 men, owned 75,000 oxen, thousands of wagons and warehouses plus a sawmill, a meatpacking plant, a bank and an insurance company.Russell was a prominent businessman, well respected among his peers and the community. Wad dell was co-owner of the firm Figurehead, Wad dell & Co. After Figurehead was bought out and retired, Wad dell merged his company with Russells, changing the name to Wad dell & Russell. In 1855 they took on a new partner, Alexander Majors, and founded the company of Russell, Majors & Wad dell. They held government contracts for delivering army supplies to the western frontier, and Russell had a similar idea for contracts with the U.S. Government for fast mail delivery.By utilizing a short route and using mounted riders rather than traditional stagecoaches, they proposed to establish a fast mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, with letters delivered in 10 days, a duration many said was impossible. The initial price was set at $5 per 1⁄2 ounce (14 g), then $2.50, and by July 1861 to $1. The founders of the Pony Express hoped to win an exclusive government mail contract, but that did not come about.Russell, Majors, and Wad dell organized and put together the Pony Express in two months in the winter of 1860. The undertaking assembled 120 riders, 184 stations, 400 horses, and several hundred personnel during January and February 1861.Alexander Majors was a religious man and resolved "by the help of God" to overcome all difficulties. He presented each rider with a special edition Bible and required this oath,which they were also required to sign."I, ..., do hereby swear, before the Great and Living God, that during my engagement, and while I am an employee of Russell, Majors, and Wad dell, I will, under no circumstances, use profane language, that I will drink no intoxicating liquors, that I will not quarrel or fight with any other employee of the firm, and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as to win the confidence of my employers, so help me God." — Oath sworn by Pony Express RidersThe Pony Express demonstrated that a unified transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated year round. When replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the American West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of individual young, hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the Frontier times.From 1866 until 1889, the Pony Express logo was used by stagecoach and freight company Wells Fargo, which provided secure mail service. The United States Postal Service (USPS) used "Pony Express" as a trademark for postal services in the US.[13] Freight Link international courier services, based in Russia, adopted the Pony Express trademark and a logo similar to that of the USPS.小马快递成立由来： 在很大程度上是由加利福尼亚的新发现的突出和迅速增长的人口的想法，一个快速的邮件到太平洋海岸的想法。

1848发现黄金后，成千上万的淘金者、投资者和商人来到了加利福尼亚，当时1850的美国新的领土，加利福尼亚作为一个自由的国家加入欧盟1860，人口已增长到美国南北战争接近一个更快的方式从西边的国家得到邮件和其他通信的需求变得更大 在19世纪50年代后期，威廉罗素，亚历山大专业，和威廉的Wad戴尔是小马快递的三位创始人他们已在货运和马车时代的商业在业务的高峰期，他们雇用6000人，拥有75000牛，数千辆货车和仓库以及一家锯木厂，一个肉类加工厂，一家银行和保险公司 罗素是一位杰出的商人，在他的同事和社会中备受尊敬我是戴尔公司的傀儡公司的所有者，一团戴尔公司后的傀儡了，退休了，我把自己与罗素的戴尔公司，改名为WAD戴尔&罗素1855他们有了一个新的合作伙伴，亚力山大专业，并成立罗素公司，专业和一叠戴尔他们为向西方国家提供军队供应的政府合同，罗素和美国政府签订了一个类似于美国政府的快速投递邮件的想法 通过利用短路线，并使用骑马的车手，而不是传统的马车，他们提出建立圣约瑟夫，密苏里和加利福尼亚州萨克拉门托之间的快速邮件服务，以在10天内交付信件，持续时间许多人说是不可能的最初的价格定为每0.5盎司（14 G）5$，那么$2.50和1861年7月到$ 1。

小马快递的创始人希望赢得独家政府邮件的合同，但没有达成 罗素，专业，和戴尔的Wad组织放在一起小马快递在两个月的1860年冬季创业组装一月和1861年2月期间，120车友，184台，400匹马，和几百名工作人员 亚历山大专业是一个宗教的人，解决“上帝的帮助”克服一切困难他提出 “我......，特此宣誓，大又活的神面前，我的订婚期间，虽然我是拉塞尔，专业，和戴尔的Wad的一名员工，我会在任何情况下，使用亵渎的语言，即我不再喝烈酒，我不会吵架，或与公司的其他员工打架，而且在各方面我都会诚实自己，忠实于我的职责，所以我所有的作为必胜的信心我的雇主，所以帮助我的上帝 - 由小马快递车手宣誓誓言 小马快递证明，通信的统一跨洲系统可以建立和经营的全年当电报取代，小马快递迅速成为浪漫，成为美国西部传说的一部分其能力和个人年轻，强壮骑手和马匹快耐力依赖被视为边境时代崎岖美国的个人主义的证据。