The Effects of the Telegraph in America Throughout the 19th century many great inventions came about to better the lives of Americans. From small inventions like the soda fountain and the match, to more important creations such as the traffic light or man-made plastic, there is one device that aided greatly in a time of national struggle. The telegraph was invented in 1838 and was highly used throughout the years of the American Civil War. Without the help of the telegraph, the country may have split into two and we would not have the same United States that we know today.
The inventor who created the first working telegraph was Samuel F. B. Morse. Before Morse was an inventor, he was actually an artist. In 1818 he married his first wife, Lucretia Walker, with whom he had three children. Lucretia died while Morse was on an art trip and soon after, both of Morse’s parents passed away as well. Left in a state of grief, Morse travelled to Europe to collect himself emotionally and upon returning home to America, he met an inventor named Charles Thomas Jackson. The two took up a conversation about carrying an electronic impulse long distances using a wire. The …show more content…
The two inventors were finally able to create a working telegraph in 1838 using their combine funds to complete the research and work needed to do so. Along with the invention of the telegraph, Vail and Morse thought up a series of dots and dashes that would be assigned a letter of the alphabet or a number, that cipher would soon be called Morse Code. The two inventor’s next challenge was to find investors, which they eventually found in Congress. After a small demonstration of how the device worked, the pair were granted $30,000 to set up an experimental wire system between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1844 Morse sent out his first a now-famous message, “What hath God
The inventor who created the first working telegraph was Samuel F. B. Morse. Before Morse was an inventor, he was actually an artist. In 1818 he married his first wife, Lucretia Walker, with whom he had three children. Lucretia died while Morse was on an art trip and soon after, both of Morse’s parents passed away as well. Left in a state of grief, Morse travelled to Europe to collect himself emotionally and upon returning home to America, he met an inventor named Charles Thomas Jackson. The two took up a conversation about carrying an electronic impulse long distances using a wire. The …show more content…
The two inventors were finally able to create a working telegraph in 1838 using their combine funds to complete the research and work needed to do so. Along with the invention of the telegraph, Vail and Morse thought up a series of dots and dashes that would be assigned a letter of the alphabet or a number, that cipher would soon be called Morse Code. The two inventor’s next challenge was to find investors, which they eventually found in Congress. After a small demonstration of how the device worked, the pair were granted $30,000 to set up an experimental wire system between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1844 Morse sent out his first a now-famous message, “What hath God