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- INTRODUCTION
In the early nineteenth century, instant communication over long distances was something of a dream. The American people were accustomed to the fact that sending a message takes days to travel over long distances, especially given the U.S.’s westward expansion. At that time though, wired technology wasn’t even conceived as a possible solution to the long communication times. But, a technological innovation came to the forefront that would completely change the ease and speed of communication across the U.S. It was in the 1830s that a man named Samuel Morse introduced the first form of long distance, instant, and wired communication to the United States known as the telegraph. The form of wired communication that Morse introduced became widely used, enhanced, and adapted in the U.S., impacting American society while paving the way for future technology.
- HISTORY OF TELEGRAPH COMMUNICATION
2.1 Introduction of the telegraph
The telegraph was the very first method of wired telecommunication introduced in to the U.S. [1] It was introduced when Samuel Morse obtained a patent in 1838 for a single-wire electric telegraph. [1] Essentially, Morse’s telegraph worked as a switch turning on an electric current when the sender depressed a button. [2] The electric current would then be sent along a wire where a receiver would interpret the on and off switches of the electrical current. Morse was able to assign an alphabet to the switching on and off of the electrical current. Known as Morse code, it gave the series of dots (short electrical currents) and dashes (longer electrical currents) a set of letters. [3]
Figure 1. An example of the code developed by Morse [4]
2.2 Expansion of telegraph use in the U.S.
By 1843, the U.S. government realized the potential of an electric telegraph and granted Morse $30,000 to build an experimental telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. [1] Therefore, the initial interest by the U.S. government impacted the further development of the telegraph because the money Morse received gave him a chance to prove that his telegraph system would work over long distance. Initially, the first telegraph was plagued by communications problems. The connection between the sending and receiving end was very unreliable due to effects on the wires such as weather and terrain. The need for a more reliable way to transmit the messages led to the invention of insulated telegraph wires. [3] Suddenly, proving that the Washington to Baltimore telegraph line worked, telegraph lines connected New York, Washington, Buffalo, Boston and New Orleans. [1]
- IMPACT OF THE TELEGRAPH
3.1 Pre – American Civil War impacts
Once the telegraph had spread enough to cover the eastern portion of the U.S. in 1850, its impacts on American society to that point were clear. The telegraph network allowed for a faster spread of news coverage. [5] Newspaper companies could quickly distribute information to different offices thousands of miles apart, which could then print the stories. Therefore, the American society benefited by being able to stay up to date on news stories. Proving to be a success with spreading news information, the telegraph then moved on to have an impact on the American battlefield.
3.2 Civil War impacts of the telegraph
By the start of the American Civil War in 1861, the U.S. already had a large network of telegraph lines in use. However, most of the lines were situated in States which did not secede from the Union. Therefore, the Union had an effective means of high speed and long distance communication it could use. In fact, the Union Army had established the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps for the sole use of effectively using the telegraph network. [6] The telegraph network used by the Union allowed its commanders to send real-time battlefield reports to other commanders and the President. [6] The President and other commanders could then use the real-time information for strategy making, which gave the Union Army a large advantages over the Confederates.
Figure 2. A depiction of the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps in the Civil War [7]
3.3 Post – Civil War impacts
Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the U.S. continued to see widespread use of the telegraph. It especially saw a major expansion in use in U.S. financial markets. Before the telegraph, for example, prices in one city could lag behind another city because of slow communication times in the market. [1] But, with a telegraph network that spread coast to coast, the financial information could be spread at a much faster pace. This impacted American society because it led to higher market investments which drove the prices down for average consumers. [1]
- PEOPLE’S IMPACT ON THE TELEGRAPH
At several points in the telegraph’s history, American people worked to improve its use. The initial impact from people came from the need for a reliable form of long distance communication. As mentioned early, special insolated wires were invented to be used to increase the reliability of the telegraphs’ transmissions. [3] Also, when the American people began to expand westward, they demanded a more efficient and faster form of communication. This was because the only methods of communicating with American’s in the far west was with postal mail, as carried by ventures like the Pony Express which were comparatively slow. Therefore, in 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph line was created. [5] Finally, during the expansion of the telegraph lines westward, the system was plagued by poor transmission problems. The American people impacted the solution for the transmission problems because they demanded more regulations pertaining to telegraph communication. [1] Therefore, the industry became consolidated in companies such as Western Union. By 1900, 63.2 million messages were sent over Western Unions’ lines every year. [1]
Figure 3. Map of the first Transcontinental telegraph line [8]
- CONCLUSION
The telegraph that Samuel Morse introduced left an impact on American society. It not only allowed news to be spread faster to the American people and allow settlers in the Western U.S. to communicate, but it also helped the Union win the American Civil War. The American people impacted the telegraph over time and forced it to adapt to their needs, such as a higher level of reliability. But, by 1945 the telegraph succumbed to its limitations in being a one-way form of wired communication and saw the telephone replace it as the dominant means of long distance communication. [1]
References
[1] “History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry.” EHnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
[2] UniTech. “Telegraph.” Connected Earth: How the Telegraph Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
[3] “Morse Code & the Telegraph.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
[4] https://www.offgridweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Learn-morse-code-alphabet.jpg
[5] “The Telegraph.” American Eras. Encyclopedia.com, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
[6] “Civil War Technology.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.
[7] http://civilwarthirdperiodunion1.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/8/6/26861949/1806247_orig.jpg
[8] http://learningabe.info/Transcontinental_Telegraph_System_files/image001.jpg