Albert Sidney Burleson (June 7, 1863 – November 24, 1937) was a progressive Democrat who served as

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

and Representative in Congress. He was a strong supporter of

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

and

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, so Wilson appointed him to the cabinet role heading the

US Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

. He expanded parcel post, rural free delivery and air mail service. After American entry into the world war in 1917, he stopped the mail delivery of anti-war publications, and clamped down on free speech--actions heavily criticized ever since.

Early life

Born in San Marcos, Texas, Burleson came from a wealthy Southern planter family. His father, Edward Burleson, Jr., was a Confederate officer. His grandfather,

Edward Burleson Edward Burleson (December 15, 1798 – December 26, 1851) was the third vice president of the Republic of Texas. After Texas was annexed to the United States, he served in the State Senate. Prior to his government service in Texas, he was a co ...

, was a soldier and statesman in the Republic of Texas and the early State of Texas. In his early political career, Burleson represented Texas in the House of Representatives, where he was active in promoting the development of agriculture. According to his biographer Adrian Anderson, his 1898 platform showed:

evidences of agrarian liberalism. He called for a reduction in the tariff, prison terms for violators of antitrust laws, restriction of immigration, limitations on the use of injunctions against labor unions, and a national amendment allowing the enactment of an income tax. He denounced national banks and repeated his plea for free coinage of silver.

Postmaster General

Burleson played a major role in securing the Texas delegation for

in 1912, and he became one of the President's most trusted advisors. In 1913, he was appointed Postmaster General. To his credit, he initiated the parcel post and air mail services, increasing mail service to rural areas.Adam Hochschild, "The Censor". ''Mother Jones'' (sept-Oct 2022) 47#5: 55–59, 69
online
/ref> Samuel Walker states, "Burleson holds the dubious distinction of being the worst member of the entire Wilson administration on civil liberties." According to historian G. J. Meyer, Burleson "has been called the worst postmaster general in American history, but that is unfair; he introduced parcel post and airmail and improved rural service. It is fair to say, however, that he may have been the worst human being ever to serve as postmaster general". In 1913 Burleson began segregating the postal employees by race. Burleson also fired black postal workers in the South. He drew criticism from labor unions by forbidding postal employees to strike. 1509 16th Street

In 1913, Burleson aroused a storm of protest, especially on the part of the large daily newspapers, by declaring that he would enforce the law requiring publications to print, among other things, a sworn statement of paid circulation, which had been held in abeyance by his predecessor until its constitutionality might be confirmed. The Supreme Court enjoined him from doing so. After the United States entered the World War in 1917, Burleson vigorously enforced the

Espionage Act The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...

, ordering local postmasters to send to him any illegal or suspicious material that they found. The distribution by mail of major antiwar magazines, such as Emma Goldman's '' Mother Earth'' and

Max Eastman Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radical ...

's ''

The Masses ''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the United States from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was ...

,'' was slowed drastically, and often, were never delivered. Burleson banned antiwar material from being delivered by Post Office personnel. It was impossible to draw an ideal line, and the result was a general alienation of the press. From June 1918 to July 1919, the Post Office Department operated the nation's telephone and telegraph services, an arrangement Burleson had advocated at least as early as 1913. Following the war, he continued to advocate permanent nationalization of telephone, telegraph, and

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

services. He acknowledged that Congress would be hostile to the idea and oversaw the return of the communications infrastructure to its various corporate owners. He introduced the "zone system" in which postage on second-class mail was charged according to distance.

Later life

In 1919, he was appointed as chairman of the United States Telegraph and Telephone Administration and in 1920, he became the chairman of the United States Commission to the International Wire Communication Conference, retiring in 1921. In the 1930s he opposed the Ku Klux Klan and supported Al Smith for president.Anderson, 1974. Burleson died of a heart attack and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

References

External links

*
Albert S. Burleson at American Presidents
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Albert S. 1863 births 1937 deaths United States Postmasters General Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Politicians from San Marcos, Texas People born in the Confederate States

Early life

Postmaster General

Later life

References

Further reading

External links