How Email Has Changed Over Time Essay

How Mail Has Changed Throughout History

Today’s mailing system is faster and more convenient than it was during the revolutionary time period through the Civil War. With today’s advanced technology, more people choose to instant message and email each other rather than sending letters in the mail. Because of this, we have changed the way people communicate as a society and as a whole. Mail today is fast, convenient, and simple to use. The way we use mail to communicate today is vastly improving much like it was before the 1870s.

Recently, Amazon has created drones that can deliver packages by air in an hour or less, from the time of order. This new form of mail can impact how mail works in the future. This invention could replace car transportation of packages all across America. This development is similar to when train transportation became popular. The steam engines and the Transcontinental Railroad helped

improve the delivery times it took for mail to reach Americans. This eliminated the need for people to rely on the pony express, which had taken many more weeks or even months longer than by sending mail by train. This technology of the steam engine allowed trains to travel greater distances and carry larger loads. The steamboats also helped carry mail along the eastern coast and up and down rivers. These new technologies to the mailing system improved many people’s lives and helped get information around much faster than before.
Mail today is very fast, almost instantaneous.

People are able to send messages to their best friends or family members in other states across the country in, almost, the same minute that it was sent. This makes communicating and getting information to each other faster and easier. Phones and computers alike, can send emails, which have almost entirely replaced the physical letter due the speed and convenience. Emails are free to send and can be sent and received in under a minute which makes it easy and quick for people to communicate and express their ideas. This mailing technology would have been very helpful to Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. Jackson was stationed in New Orleans during the war and was supposed to defend the city. During his time, the war had officially ended, but the news of the treaty with Brittan had not reached him or the British. He was forced to defend the city through a battle and although he won with very few casualties, if the mail had reached them sooner both sides would have suffered fewer

losses.
Faster mail services helped abolitionists and slave’s plans for escapes and uprisings. The newspaper the Liberator, created by William Lloyd Garrison, was created to draw attention to the issue of slavery, as well as putting together plans as to how to end slavery. With the steam engine, Garrison could ship his paper all throughout the north and through some parts of the south faster than what he could by foot. By using trains rather than the ordinary conventional methods, Henry Brown, a slave, shipped himself to freedom and out of slavery. He ended up making it out of the south and into the free state of Pennsylvania where he gained his freedom. John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry needed planning and communication in order to organize a group of people to cooperate in the raid. After his raid failed, the newspapers used his death as a martyr to further their cause of abolitionism. This furthered the point of trying to end slavery and to spread the word cross the nation. People today can use mail to quickly gather together a group of supporters to fight for their political views. Using email and instant messages makes it easier for people to get information in order to pass political, economic, or social views.
Instant messaging and mail is improving today as it was improving many years ago. Improvements in mail has helped us gain new advances in global communications in order to help us talk to anyone around the country. Mail after the 21st century helped people stay in touch with each other much faster than ever before. Advances in mail will continue to help people further communicate with each other in faster and easier methods.