How the Telegraph Changed the World

221 Pages·2014·5.909 MB·English

by  William J. Phalen

How the Telegraph
Changed the World
ALSOBYWILLIAMJ. PHALEN
ANDFROMMCFARLAND
The Consequences of Cotton in Antebellum America(2014)
American Evangelical Protestantism and European
Immigrants, 1800–1924(2011)
How the Telegraph
Changed the World
William J. Phalen
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Phalen, William J., 1942–
How the telegraph changed the world / William J. Phalen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-9445-3 (softcover : acid free paper) ♾
ISBN 978-1-4766-1867-8 (ebook)
1. Telegraph—Social aspects—History—19th century.
2. Telegraph—Economic aspects—History—19th century.
3. Telegraph—United States—History—19th century. I. Title.
HE7631.P46 2015
384.109'034—dc23 2014043014
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2015 William J. Phalen. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
On the cover: worker repairing telegraph line, ca.1862.
Photograph by Andrew J. Russell (Library of Congress)
Printed in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
For Maureen
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 5
1. Samuel Morse’s Invention Through the Eyes
of the Newspapers 13
2. Diplomacy 29
3. The Telegraph and the American Civil War 50
4. The Telegraph and Abraham Lincoln 74
5. The Atlantic Cable 89
6. The Telegraph and the Railroads 110
7. The Telegraph and Business 120
8. The Telegraph and the Press 128
9. Western Union 149
10. The Telegraph Workers and Unionism 171
Conclusion 185
Chapter Notes 189
Bibliography 203
Index 211
vii
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
The earliest system of telegraphy for signaling over long distances
is said to have originated in Africa. The means used were telephonic,
and the signals were read by sound, and not by the eye, as is the case of
the semaphore or other early signaling devices. The “Elliembic,” as the
instrument was called, produced a sound when it was struck that could
be varied to produce a language.
Up until the nineteenth century, mankind communicated basically
on a face to face basis. The attempts to send messages over long distances
were usually limited by the elements (rain and wind would put out signal
fires), by lack of daylight (semaphore messages could not be seen at
night), and by line of sight problems (the illumination from a lighthouse
is stopped by the curvature of the earth). Attempts to increase the ability
to communicate over distance were limited by inventions and knowledge
that had to be established first, in this case to understand electricity and
how it could be used.
Most of the experiments using electricity were done in Europe,
until the advent of Benjamin Franklin. His kite experiment which estab-
lished his well- known name led to more experiments both in America
and Europe using electricity. One was made by Franklin himself when
he transmitted an electric spark across the Schuylkill River near Philadel-
phia.
In 1827, an American, Harrison Gray, erected a line two miles long
around a racetrack, and almost succeed in establishing a true telegraph.
What was missing was a battery; with that he could have anticipated
Samuel Morse.
Another American, Joseph Henry, the secretary of the Smithsonian
Institute, almost succeed in establishing a telegraph in 1828. He had
devised and used a battery, but it was not strong enough to make his
apparatus function.
1