5: Telegraphy

As far back as the 1820's, inventors have been looking at the possibility of transmitting messages long-distance by the use of wire.  Samuel Morse built upon early innovations and in 1835, showed that messages could be sent through currents in a wire.  Morse's earliest version of the telegraph sent pulses of current over wire that deflected an electromagnet, which then moved a pencil to produce written codes on paper.  This model, however, had its drawbacks.  The pencil producing marks that were not always accurate.  In addition, this model required 26 wires, one for each letter of the alphabet.  Morse was determined to limit the amount of wires to just one.  This was made possible by creating a telegraphic alphabet, in which each letter is represented by a series of short and long pulses.  Many give Morse's assistant Alfred Vail the credit for what came to be known as the Morse Code. Congress offered $30,000 for a working telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore (a distance of around forty miles.)  In 1844, Morse completed the line and sent the first telegraph message between the two points, sending the message, "What hath God wrought?”

With private funds, Morse then extended lines to Philadelphia and New York.  Small telegraph companies began popping up everywhere.  By 1854 there were 23,000 miles of telegraph wire in the United States.  Morse also obtained patents in Europe.  The first transcontinental telegraph line was completed in 1861.  While Morse's original model printed the code on paper, later operators were trained in Morse Code.  These operators could decode messages by ear, often at speeds up to 40 or 50 words per minute!

The telegraph revolutionized communication around the world.  It proved invaluable to send military information during the Civil War.  It provided instant communication, simultaneously connecting one coast to another.  It laid the foundation of telecommunication technology for the next century.