On July 1, 1845, US Congress established uniform postal rates, giving rise to the creation of Postmaster Provisional stamps. In 1840, Great Britain issued the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, and established uniform postage rates. Up until that time, there were many different postage rates in different jurisdictions, which made it difficult to determine the correct fees before mailing a letter, leaving the recipient responsible with paying for the letter’s delivery. The US watched closely to see how well these uniform rates worked in Great Britain. After witnessing the success, Congress passed an act on March 3, 1845, establishing uniform postal rates. While there was some discussion of creating stamps, that authorization was left out of the act. It would be exactly two years before they passed another act authorizing the postmaster-general to issue stamps for use all over the country.