Lysander Spooner takes on the U.S. Postal System

Lysander Spooner, the Father of the 3-cent Stamp, was a true hero.  In 1844 the going rate for sending a letter was 18 cents (equals $5.41 today).  Lysander Spooner decided to take on the government postal monopoly by giving them a little competition.  He started the American Letter Mail Company and nearly put the US postal service out of business.  After lawsuits and threats came to no avail, the only way the USPS managed to stay afloat was to lower postal rates to 3 cents per letter.  Read More about this story.  I used an Inflation Calculator to convert the 1844 price.