Lysander Spooner

Lysander Spooner (January 19, 1808 – May 14, 1887) was an American classical liberal political philosopher, abolitionist, and legal theorist of the 19th century. He is best known for his role in the abolitionist movement to end slavery, competing with the U.S. Post Office, and for his contributions to American individualist anarchism.

Early Years & the Postal Monopoly

His activism began with his career as a lawyer, which itself violated local Massachusetts law. Spooner had studied law under the prominent lawyers and politicians, John Davis and Charles Allen, but he had never attended college. According to the laws of the state, college graduates were required to study with an attorney for three years, while non-graduates were required to do so for five years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the encouragement of his legal mentors, Spooner set up his practice in Worcester after only three years, openly defying the courts. He saw the two-year privilege for college graduates as a state-sponsored discrimination against the poor. He argued that such discrimination was "so monstrous a principle as that the rich ought to be protected by law from the competition of the poor." In 1836, the legislature abolished the restriction.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After a disappointing legal career — for which his radical writing seemed to have kept away potential clients — and a failed career in real estate speculation in Ohio, Spooner returned to his father's farm in 1840.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Postal rates were notoriously high in the 1840s, and in 1844, Spooner founded the American Letter Mail Company to contest the United States Postal Service's monopoly. As he had done when challenging the rules of the Massachusetts bar, he published a pamphlet entitled, "The Unconstitutionality of the Laws of Congress Prohibiting Private Mails". Although Spooner had finally found commercial success with his mail company, legal challenges by the government eventually exhausted his financial resources. He closed up shop without ever having had the opportunity to fully litigate his constitutional claims. The lasting legacy of Spooner's challenge to the postal service was the 3 cent stamp, adopted in response to the competition his company provided.http://www.lysanderspooner.org/STAMP3.htm The action earned him his nickname of the "Father of Affordable Postage."

Related Topics:
1844 - American Letter Mail Company - United States Postal Service

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~