Interesting trivium in the latest Post Office podcast. When Morse made his first official trial, What hath God wrought, he was working for the Post Office.
Makes sense. The PO was meant to supervise national communications infrastructure. It already supervised national roads, some navigable rivers, and some coastal waterways.
Many Euro countries continued the setup, later expanding to radio and TV. Britain’s post office served the same function as our FCC, not owning the networks but enforcing the national interest.
The US post office didn’t keep the telegraph, letting Morse have it for commercial purposes a year later.
Polistra's Mill 