The Importance of the Telegraph

The telegraph is an electromagnet connected to a battery via a switch. When the switch is down, the current flows from the battery through the key, down the wire, and into the sounder at the other end of the line. By itself, the telegraph could express only two states, on or off. This limitation was eliminated by the fact that it was the duration of the connection that determined the dot and dash from each other being short and long, respectively. From these combinations of dots and dashes the Morse code was formed. The code included all the letters of the English alphabet, all the numbers and several punctuation marks. A variation to the telegraph was a receiving module that Morse had invented. The module consisted of a mechanically operated pencil and a roll of paper. When a message was received, the pencil would draw the corresponding dashes and dots on the paper to be deciphered later.

The electric telegraph was one of the first telecommunication technologies of the industrial age. By transmitting information quickly over long distances, the telegraph facilitated the growth of the railroads, consolidated financial markets, and reduced the information costs between firms. Webster’s definition of at telegraph is “an apparatus for communicating at a distance by coded signals.” The earliest telegraphs consisted of smoke signals, drums, and mirrors used to reflect sunlight. In order to use these methods effectively, both the sender and receiver needed a method to interpret these signals. In 1791 the Frenchman, Claude Chappe used a visual network to send a message ten miles. This invention was called the telegraphe, or far writer. By 1779, his telegraph consisted of a network of towers with mechanical arms spread across France.

The telegraph is bases upon the principle that a magnet may be endowed and deprived at will with the peculiarity of attracting iron by connecting or disconnecting it with a galvanic battery (The Household Cyclopedia of General Information). All magnetic telegraphs are based soled upon this principle. Methods of communicating over long distances stretch back to ancient times. The French in 1794, devised an “optical telegraph,” the first practical modern system.

In 1832, Samuel Morse returned to the United States from his studies in Europe. He conceived of the idea of a single-wire electric telegraph. Morse is remembered today as the inventor of the telegraph. However, it has been claimed the Joseph Henry actually invented the telegraph in 1831, several years before Morse constructed and demonstrated his first prototype. Joseph Henry was responsible for major discoveries in electromagnetisms. He obtained a $30,000 grant from Congress in 1843 to build an experimental line between Baltimore and Washington. Morse dispatched the first telegraphic message on May 24, 1844. Development of the telegraph system was widely adopted across the country. Since this new communication systems had the full support of US Congress, telegraph lines were established between all major US cities. The patent for this telegraph was officially approved in 1854, following an extensive legal battle that was finally won in U.S. Supreme Court. In 1866, the first telegraph was successfully transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean. By the end of the decade, the Associated Press had begun to transmit news throughout the world by the use of telegraph. The telegraph even changed the style of news reporting on a permanent level.

The telegraph accelerated the speed of business transactions during the late 19th Century and contributed to the industrialization of the United States. Like most industries, it faced new challenges and competition and proved its downfall with new technologies. Before the telephone became an indispensable part of our lives, the telegraph was the most popular method of transmitting a message. Morse Code is still used by professionals and amateurs in radio telegraphy. The telegraph was the world’s principal communication tool for many years. This invention reshaped communications before the 20th Century and laid the groundwork for the technology of the future. Samuel Morse’s first telegraph is now housed in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

References

Field, Alexander. “French Optical Telegraphy, 1793-1855: Hardware, Software,
Administration.” Technology and Culture 35 (1994): 315-47.

Nonnenmacher, Tomas. “History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, www.eh.net

The Household Cyclopedia of General Information, 1881, www.publicbookshelf.com

The History of the Telegraph, www.allsands.com

The Library of Congress, Today in History, www.memory.loc.gov

References

Field, Alexander. “French Optical Telegraphy, 1793-1855: Hardware, Software, Administration.” Technology and Culture 35 (1994): 315-47.

Nonnenmacher, Tomas. “History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry.” EH.Net Encyclopedia, www.eh.net

The Household Cyclopedia of General Information, 1881, www.publicbookshelf.com

The History of the Telegraph, www.allsands.com

The Library of Congress, Today in History, www.memory.loc.gov