"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
-- Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 16, 1787

The March 2007 decision by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to drastically increase postal rates for small and independent publications represents an abrupt departure from more than 200 years of postal policy encouraging a vibrant marketplace of ideas.

Our founders understood that a diversity of political speech and opinion was essential to the robust political debate that sustains our democracy.

Thomas Jefferson called for a postal service that would allow citizens to gain "full information of their affairs," where ideas could "penetrate the whole mass of the people." Along with James Madison, Jefferson paved the way for a service that gave smaller political journals a voice. Their solution included low postal rates so that publications could reach as many readers as possible.

Other founders soon came to understand that the press as a political institution needed to be supported through favorable postal rates. George Washington advocated for free postage for newspapers through the mail. Even Alexander Hamilton -- no proponent of government deficit -- conceded that supportive policies were needed to sustain a viable press.

The postal policies established by the founders endured for more than 200 years, spurring a vibrant political culture in the United States. They have eased the entry of diverse political viewpoints into a national discourse often dominated by the largest media organizations.

Our free press did not just happen; it was built on the foundation of postal policies that encouraged small publications and dissident ideas to sprout and flourish. The postal system is based on policies of public service and democratic values.

The new postal rate hike reverses this history of policymaking in the public interest.

The hike threatens the financial viability of hundreds of small and independent magazines from across the political spectrum, including many of the best known journals of political opinion in the country. It will cost these publications hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional postage and force them to make drastic cuts to their operations in order to survive.

You can help protect our marketplace of ideas.

Click here to send a message to Congress.

To learn more about the history of postal rates, see:

Eric Burns. Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism (New York: Public Affairs, 2006).

Richard R. John. Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995).

Richard B. Kielbowicz, News in the Mail: The Press, Post Office, and Public Information, 1700-1860s (Greenwood, 1989).

Mark Lloyd, Prologue to a Farce: Democracy and Communication in America (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007).

Robert W. McChesney, The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the 21st Century (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004).

Christopher W. Shaw, Preserving the People's Post Office (Washington, D.C.: Essential Books, 2006).