American bureaucracy was alive and well in the 19th century! Here's a look at some of the government offices, agencies and departments of the Victorian era, most of which are still around in some form today. (That's the Library of Congress at left - a building well worth visiting if you have an interest in classic Victorian architecture!)

The Library of Congress (Harper's Monthly, 1873A)

The Patent Office, and How to Repair Its Losses, by W.H. Babcock (Atlantic Monthly, 1878)

The Public Service and the Public, by Dorman Eaton (Atlantic Monthly, 1878)

Who Pays Protective Duties? by Horatio Burchard (Atlantic Monthly, 1878)

The Amendment of the Patent Law (Scribners, 1879A)

Our Patent-System, and What We Owe to It (Scribners, 1879A)

The American Lifesaving Service (Harper's Monthly, 1882A)

Civil Service Rules (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

A Synopsis of the Rules of Process in the US Patent Office (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

United States Internal Revenue Tax (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

Law and Order Leagues (Century Magazine, 1883B)

We would probably call these "vigilante groups" today, but they were a popular means of enforcing the peace at the time.

The United States Pension Office, by Eugene V. Smalley (Century Magazine, 1884B)

Statistics of pensioners and the Pension Office.

American Railroad Legislation, by Prof. A.T. Hadley (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

The United States Fish Commission, by Richard Rathbun (Century Magazine, 1892A)

The Fish Commission was developed in response to the depletion of certain fisheries; its tasks included investigating the habits and migrations of various types of fish, managing supplies to avoid or restore depletions, institute fish-culture where appropriate, and more.

Courts of Conciliation in America, by Nicolay Grevstad (Atlantic Monthly, 1893)

In the United States Weather Office (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1893)

How weather was forecasted and the forecasts disseminated.

An Inside View of the Pension Bureau, by A.B. Casselman (Century Magazine, 1893B)

"In considering the methods of the Pension Bureau in the annual disbursement of one hundred and fifty millions of dollars, it should first be remembered that the business of that bureau has been conducted, hitherto, with a view to political results; that is, with a view to show that the party in power is 'the friend of the soldier.' The Commissioner of Pensions seeks to show, in his annual reports, that he has transacted a larger volume of business than his predecessor; that is to say, has issued a larger number of pension certificates."

National Forests and National Parks (Century Magazine, 1895A)

A series of editorials and letters from 1885-1896 on concerns, issues and debates over the care and protection of America's national forests and national parks.

The Nation's Library, by William A. Coffin (Century Magazine, 1897A)

On the newly built Library of Congress.

The Post Office

The [Postal] Money Order System (Godey's, 1867)

The Appointment of Postmasters (Century Magazine, 1883B)

Postal Savings Banks (Century Magazine, 1888A)

The Ocean Postal Service, by Thomas L. James (Century Magazine, 1892A)

The evolution of a system of ocean mail-steamers between the US and Britain.

• See also American Government