Blog Post #6

 The wired telegraph is among one of the most import inventions in the history of human communication. The reason it was so revolutionary was because this was the first technology that allowed humans to send messages over a long distance. It transformed communication in a profound way. This device was perfected and popularized by Samuel Morse in 1832. The first message sent using the telegraph was "What hath God wrought." 

    Shortly after it was revealed to the public, work began on this technology's infrastructure. In 1843, Samuel Morse build a telegraph wire from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. It was later extended to New York. By 1864, there were over 44k miles of wires. By 1866, there were 100k+. This building laid the groundwork for the brand new technology that would soon sweep the nation. 

For the first stretch of its existence, the use of the wired telegraph was very limited. This would change many years after its invention. The Communications Act of 1934 established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and consolidated federal regulation of radio, telegraph, and telephone. The act's goals included making communication services available to all Americans at reasonable rates. This meant that the use of the telegraphy became much more readily accessible to the general public. Starting in 1934, the use of the telegraph saw unprecedented rate.

The telegraph had many consequences that were unpredictable, some positive and some negative. Some major impacts of the telegraph included: faster messaging, improved news, contributed to world peace, made news papers obsolete, and helped encourage the idea of instant messaging. This was a stark contrast to the previous world of sending letters that could take weeks, if not months, to be delivered to their intended recipients. We can't forget about the negative impacts of the telegraph though, some of these included the spread of potential misinformation, miscommunication through morse code, and the disruption of the environment from telegraph line construction. Many of these issues we still see in some form today. 

The wired telegraph was a groundbreaking invention that forever changed the way humans communicate. By enabling near-instantaneous messaging over long distances, it laid the foundation for the rapid exchange of information that we now take for granted. While its influence eventually faded with the rise of more advanced technologies, its impact can still be felt in modern communication systems. The telegraph not only revolutionized news, business, and global relations but also introduced challenges that echo in today’s digital age. Though it may no longer be in widespread use, its legacy lives on in the instant nature of our world today.