EOTO: The Telegraph

When you're driving down the road you probably don't even notice the wires running above and beside the roads because they've been there your entire life. But there was a time when those wires were a novelty to the average traveller. These wires weren't just for powering homes and buildings, but for the increasing network of telegraphs. Before radio, and even telephones, the telegraph laid the groundwork for the connectivity of the United States. 

History

While Samuel Morse might be most known for his invention of the Morse Code, the electric telegraph is responsible for the widespread use of it. Invented and patented in 1837, the electrical telegraph revolutionized long distance communication. An operator would tap a key, using Morse Code, to break and make a connection between the telegraph's battery and receiver to send a message as electrical pulses along wires to another telegraph where the electrical pulses would control a stylus to write out the message in Morse Code. The first long distance use of the telegraph was from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland in 1843, with the message stating "What hath God wrought!"

As the amount of telegraph lines increased, so did the number of telegraph companies. Telegraph companies were who people would go to to send and receive telegraphs as they were the only ones with the machinery needed and direct access to the lines. The most dominant company was the Western Union Telegraph Company, which is still running today, but as a financial services company. Western Union was created when a number of telegraph companies were consolidated into one corporation in 1856. The first transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861, going from San Fransisco, California to the Midwest and connecting to the East Coast. It was later moved in 1869 to run alongside the Union Pacific Railroad to allow for maintenance to be completed easier and quicker when needed. 

The major uses of the telegraph came from journalists and military officials. Journalism accounted for a large amount of use of telegraphs as news organizations could now receive news from their correspondents in the same day. This dramatically increased the use and importance of correspondents in journalism. The Associated Press (A.P.) was originally formed by 5 separate news outlets in New York in 1846 as a way to share the information from telegrams and pay a telegraph company once and split the costs. It had similar effects in the military as well in regards to the messages increased speed of travel. Allowing generals on both sides to talk to their colleagues while on completely different fronts of wars. It was heavily used by President Lincoln in the Civil War, to the point he would sleep on a cot in the telegraph office during key battles. Lincoln used the telegraph to receive war updates or tell his generals to strike if he wasn't happy with the progress. 

In 1871, the duplex transmission was introduced by J.B. Stearns, allowing for 2 messages to be sent or received on a single wire, and later in 1874, Edison invented the Quadruplex transmission system allowing for a single wire to send or receive 4 different signals. Allowing for a wider bandwidth on the telegraph lines all over the country. When the telephone was invented, by Alexander Graham Bell, it was expected to kill the telegraph, but in reality they coexisted for many years, as new technology for the telephone could be implemented on the telegraph. Such as simultaneous communication for telegraphs and telephones on the same wire, and the vacuum tube. The vacuum tube allowed for amplification of weaker signals on wires that travel longer distances. 

The end of the telegraph era came after World War II, because the older wires became too expensive to repair and were replaced by coaxial cables and microwave links. These new wires that had even more bandwidth for different signals, with their capabilities only being limited by the extents of the equipment sending the signals. 

The Impact of the Telegraph

The telegraph was the first ever form of electrical communication, laying the groundwork for every other type of electrical communication since then. In its time the telegraph decreased travel time of messages so drastically it ended the Pony Express industry, in addition the messages were a lot more secure traveling on the wires than on a horse. It also helped facilitate railway construction, because management at building sites could communicate with their bosses easier and vice versa, so they can update the workers if needed. It also created a lot of jobs across the country through the telegraph companies popping up in new towns, and giving reason to populate those towns. The travel time decrease also allowed for breaking news on one side of the country to reach the other side almost daily. The role of correspondents skyrocketed because of this as they could now be spread out even further across the country and keep their publishers up to date. In addition, it allowed for generals to communicate plans, troop advancements, and reports to each other in a much faster and secure way. 

While the telegraph had many advantages, there were also disadvantages from its use. The communication quality was very poor, especially compared to later communication techniques, as Morse Code is tedious to translate and not everyone was able to do it. There is the view that the telegraph forced the north and south regions of the country to del with the views each side on issues in society, the future of the country, and how that future should look, helping to push America towards civil war.