Communication In The Late 1800s And Today

This essay will focus on communication in the late 1800s to communication in 2015. In the late 1800s the telephone was invented; however, today, in 2015, the telephone has improved drastically since the late 1800s. In this essay, the comparisons between telephones in the late 1800s and 2015 are far and in-between; however, the contrasts are easily found. Another thing that will be contrasted and compared in this essay is how other communications have changed, from the telegraph to computers or texting. The closing element that will be compared and contrasted is the face-to-face communication has changed since the 1800s. Face-to-face communication has decreased since the use telephone has gradually increased. The ways people communicate may …show more content…
The telegraph was perfected by Samuel Morse in 1844. The telegraph was a way to shorten the time for which it took to get information between two sources. The telegraph used wire and sent a code, the Morse Code, to communicate between two stations. The first successful telegram sent by Samuel Morse was, “What hath God wrought?” from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. However, the telegram wasn’t the only invention to sweep America in the 1800s. The telephone was a huge invention that revolutionized communication for society. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1875 with his assistant, Thomas Watson. The first message that was passed along with the telephone was this, “Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you” (Bellis, Mary. The History of the Telephone). This invention made it so that society today can have the smartphones that are around today. Wires and lines weren’t the only ways to communicate in the 1800s. People communicated through the mail and the Pony Express. The Pony Express was created as a mean to spread communication faster. The Pony Express consisted of “100 stations, 80 riders, and between 400 and 500 horses” (History of). The Pony Express transported mail up until 1861 after the transcontinental telegram wires were finished (History of the Pony). The Pony Express was a vital part of the history of communication. The camaraderie and the drama are what kept the Pony Express …show more content…
In the 1800s, the basic components of a telephone consisted of iron, bras, mica, wood, electromagnets, and regular magnets (Alexander). When a person speaks into the receiver, the sound changes the electromagnet so it moves accordingly with the sound waves. This was an improvement on the telegraph because the person receiving the message could actually understand the speaker. Although the telephone was expensive, it took communication and made it easier. Cell phones today are made out of several components such as the following: “glass, aluminum, lithium cobalt oxide, carbon graphite, gold, copper, silver, platinum, tungsten, and plastic” (Wagner). These materials were not readily available in the time of Alexander Graham Bell, but they are used thoroughly today. Glass is used for the screen, the metals are used for the wiring and circuitry, and the plastic is used to create the shell for the phone. Another difference between today’s phones and the first telephones would be the mobility. There was no mobility with Bell’s telephone. It was usually anchored on a wall and never removed. This is vastly different from today’s phones. Cell phones in 2015 are smaller and compact so that you can call on the go. The phones of today are also more mobile than ever and can fit in your pants pocket with room to spare. A third part of the technology used with phones would be the network system. In the late 1800s the theme was