Invention: Telegraph Inventor: Samuel Morse Year: 1844 Location: Washington DC and Baltimore, Maryland
Background: Throughout the 1800s America's industry grew, including means of faster travel, trade and the economy was experiencing a boast due to the Industrial Revolution. However, faster and better communication was still lacking in the continental United States.
Samuel Morse was an American painter who was away for business when he received a letter that his wife was sick. The next day, he received another letter that she had died. By the time he had made it home, his wife had already been buried. Morse received this letters days and weeks after his wife's death and he was so angry about the slow communication system, he decided that a new one was needed. He also saw how long it took for people in the west to communicate with people in the south or the north. He worked on creating an invention that would allow for people to communicate faster than hand written letters that would have to be delivered. Morse created an invention called the "telegraph." The telegraph is a device that used electric signals to send messages along wires to a receiving telegraph.
Two telegraphs would be connected by wires, controlled by people. One person would send a message by tapping out different letters, the taps were then turned into electrical signals that would be sent to the receiving telegraph via the connected wires. The receiving telegraph would then turn the electric signals into beeps and dashes that would correspond with a specific letter of the alphabet. These beeps and dashes became known as Morse Code.
On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse tested out his telegraph by connection wires from Washington D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland. Morse tapped out his original message and a few moments later, the same message was returned proving that the telegraph worked successfully.
By 1852, there were over 23,000 miles of telegraph lines criss-cross across the entire United States.
Significance: By being able to send electrical messages across wires, communication within the United States went from taking days to taking a matter of just a few minutes. Before, people had to wait days or weeks to hear news and events from around the country, especially when it came to political news or the advancement of technology and westward expansion. The telegraph also opened up wires for communication for businesses which then helped the business become more efficient with production and trade, causing an increase in the United States economy.
Use the code below to decipher the first message ever sent by the telegraph: .-- .... .- - / .... .- - .... / --. --- -.. / .-- .-. --- ..- --. .... - (/ shows when a new word starts)