Post Offices and Post Roads Clause

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The Post Offices and Post Roads Clause is a constitutional provision granting Congress the power to establish and regulate a national postal system and the routes over which mail is carried.

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Label Occurrences
Post Offices and Post Roads Clause canonical 1

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf constitutional clause
enumerated power
federal power
affects United States Postal Service
appliesToJurisdiction United States of America
surface form: United States
authorizes creation of post offices
designation of post roads
regulation of the carriage of mail
branchEmpowered legislative branch
cameIntoForceWith ratification of the United States Constitution
constitutionalCategory power over communications
power over infrastructure
constitutionalNumbering Article I, Section 8, Clause 7
distinguishedFrom state police powers
enables federal postal regulations
nationwide uniform mail service
governs designation of official mail routes
federal authority over mail delivery
grantsPowerTo United States Congress
historicalPurpose facilitate national communication
promote political integration of the states
support interstate commerce through mail service
influencedBy Articles of Confederation postal provisions
interpretedBy Supreme Court of the United States
languageOrigin Constitutional Convention
surface form: Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787
legalEffect makes postal power exclusive or dominant in its field
limits state interference with federal mail system
locatedInDocument United States Constitution
partOf Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution
surface form: Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution
primaryFunction authorize a national postal system
authorize regulation of mail routes
grant power to establish post offices
grant power to establish post roads
relatedTo Commerce Clause
Necessary and Proper Clause
Postal Power of Congress
scopeIncludes criminalization of interference with the mails
protection of the mails
regulation of postal rates when Congress chooses
selection of mail routes
subjectMatter mail carriage
post offices
post roads
textIncludes "To establish Post Offices and post Roads"
timeOfAdoption 1788
usedToJustify federal postal monopoly over letter mail
federal regulation of lottery advertisements in the mail
federal regulation of mail fraud
federal regulation of obscene materials in the mail

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Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution contains Post Offices and Post Roads Clause