History Of The Telegraph

In the 19th century, there were many advances in terms of communication. For example, there was the telegraph and signal lamps. People were able to communicate in a way like no other. Nearly everyone used this as a resource including, the government, the common man, farmers, etc. The telegraph was created by Samuel Morse, Leonard Gale, and Alfred Vail in the 1830s and 1840s, but most of the work was credited to Samuel Morse. Morse was originally a painter, who went to college at Yale. He was fascinated by electromagnetic activity, which inspired him to want to make his own telegraph. He collaborated with Gale and Vail to make their own “single-circuit telegraph.” It was a huge advance in technology and communication. The telegraph took the

It was invented in the 1830s. The Morse Code was used to for radio communication. There are different dots and dashes that represent certain letters and numbers. The sets of dots are shown by short marks. The dashes are represented by long marks. They are represented by their frequency. For example, letters such as A and E got simple codes because they were frequently used, however letters such as Q and Z had more complicated codes because they were not frequently used. Like nearly every invention, the telegraph had its pros and cons. Morse and Vail initially received funding from the government. The very first message sent was “What hath God wrought.” This newfound system spread not only across America but as well as across the world. Due to the fact that this way of communication was becoming very popular, it led to the invention of improved insulation for telegraph wires. Another new way of communication in the mid to late 19th century was the signal lamp. A signal lamp was a “visual signaling device.” It also used the Morse code to communicate. A big user of the signal lamp were the British. The British continue to use this today. It was used in the Marines and Navy. It could provide them with a safe way of private communication, which was needed during radio

People could communicate different messages, news, or information and it could get there almost instantly. It affected how wars were fought, for example the Civil War, and how the government was run because Congress and other branches of the government began to use the telegraph. Eventually, the telegraph began to fade away because it got very expensive to send telegrams. After telegraphs, the telephone became a great success and more cost effective. History.com Staff. "Morse Code & the Telegraph." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

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