Lindsay Rogers’s 1915 dissertation, The Postal Power of Congress, examines the constitutional clause granting Congress authority “to establish postoffices and postroads” as a vehicle for federal expansion. Rather than a history of postal administration, the study focuses on how legislative and judicial interpretations stretched this power into domains not explicitly enumerated, such as regulating printed matter and controlling interstate communication. Rogers draws on statutes, court decisions, and departmental regulations to map the shifting boundaries between federal and state authority.

From Postal Facilities to Federal Control

The opening chapters trace the early expansion of postal infrastructure—more routes, faster service, and broader access—but quickly move to less obvious extensions. Rogers notes that Congress used the postal power to criminalize certain uses of the mail, such as fraud and obscenity, effectively policing content. The fraud orders discussed in Chapter II allowed the Post Office to deny service to individuals deemed to be conducting fraudulent schemes, a power that Rogers examines through specific statutes and administrative practices. He also highlights the tension between efficiency and constitutional rights, particularly when postal employees were authorized to inspect packages for prohibited matter. The text shows how the clause became a tool for social regulation beyond mere delivery.

Judicial Boundaries and the Fourth Amendment

Rogers devotes considerable attention to judicial decisions that defined the limits of postal power. In Chapter IV, he analyzes cases involving freedom of the press and unreasonable searches, noting that courts generally upheld Congress’s authority to exclude certain materials from the mails. A key passage discusses the legality of opening sealed letters: the Supreme Court held that postal officers could act on their own inspection when the prohibited nature of an item was “unmistakable,” as with an obscene picture. Yet Rogers also emphasizes that regulations forbade breaking seals without a warrant, and that employees who violated these rules faced criminal liability. The discussion reveals a careful balancing between administrative necessity and Fourth Amendment protections, with the courts deferring to Congress but insisting on procedural safeguards.

Federal Versus State Authority over the Mails

Chapter V explores conflicts between federal postal power and state police powers. Rogers cites examples such as the prohibition on transporting free negroes into states where they were not permitted to reside, and later laws regulating oleomargarine and game. These instances show Congress using its commerce and postal powers to support state regulations or to occupy fields exclusively. The author notes that the postal clause became a battleground for defining the “disputed zone” between national and local control. He does not resolve these tensions but documents how each side invoked constitutional arguments. The chapter underscores that the postal power was never merely about mail delivery; it was a lever for broader federal authority.

Proposals for Further Expansion

In the final chapters, Rogers turns to proposals that would extend federal control through the postal power into areas like railroad ownership and telegraph systems. He examines arguments for federal ownership of postroads and for a postal telegraph service, weighing their constitutionality under the existing clause. The discussion is cautious: Rogers presents the legal reasoning without endorsing any particular policy. He also considers the power to exclude from the mails as a means of regulating interstate commerce indirectly. The dissertation concludes by noting that the postal clause had already proven remarkably elastic, and that future expansions would likely continue to test its limits. The work thus serves as a legal forecast grounded in historical precedent.

Rogers’s study is best read as a legal analysis rather than a narrative history. Readers interested in constitutional law will find a methodical examination of how a single clause was stretched through legislation and judicial interpretation. The dissertation’s value lies in its detailed citation of statutes and cases, which allows one to trace the incremental expansion of federal power. Those seeking a broader context may wish to pair it with works on federalism or the history of the Post Office.