The History of the Telegraph (Essay Sample)

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History of the Telegraph
Long before the telegraph invention, people used visual systems that used flags or lights to communicate. These systems used observers who would decode a signal from a high tower on a hill and then send it to the next station. However, the young American country was looking for a faster communication system, and they offered $30,000 for any ideas. After the offer was made, Samuel Morse got an idea of using electricity to communicate over a distance. Morse had come to understand how an early invention called electromagnetism, and he believed it was possible to use it to send messages over a wire.
I chose the telegraph because I believe it sets a precedent for globalization. The telegraph introduced easier and faster ways of sending messages across the world. I did not choose the typewriter because I believe the telegraph had a much more impact on people’s lives. Even though the typewriter improved the speed at which people could send messages, the telegraph improved the efficiency and fastness of sending messages. Before the invention of the typewriter, people used to write messages, and sometimes it would be hard to read the messages due to poor handwriting. Despite all this, letters had to reach the recipients quickly, and the telegraph improved this. The telegraph was the beginning of instant messaging.
Evidence of Technology and Integration
The invention of the telegraph had positive and negative effects on Americans. The telegraph pushed America to the Civil War. President Lincoln used the telegraph to communicate his thoughts and warfare tactics to the Union Army to overpower the Confederate Army (Lam par.3; Trainor par.15). The telegraph helped the Union Army win the war because it acted as a change in warfare tactics. Lincoln made the North and the South understand what was happening in their country and the changes that were taking place. The telegraph revolutionized journalism by easing the communication of information. Initially, nonlocal news came by mail, and the first newspaper to be published through the telegraph was the Baltimore Sun (Lam par.4). Journalism experienced a change in how information was conveyed and businesses carried out. Thus, the public accepted the use of the telegraph because it was easy to gather and share information. Lastly, the telegraph created employment for many people who helped decipher messages. The telegraph used short-codes that represented different letters of the alphabet (Vossos par.3). Professionals were used to decoding the message and relay it to the public or intended receiver. Thus, the telegraph created employment opportunities for many Americans.
Even though the telegraph had many advantages to Americans, it also had its disadvantages. The telegraph was relatively slow when used to convey messages over long distances. For example, the telegraph sent to President Buchanan by Queen Victoria took eighteen hours to convey (Vossos par.4). Compared to some 21st-century technology such as emails, the telegraph was relatively slow. Important messages that needed to be transmitted fast took a long time to get to the recipient.