1. A Retrospective Technology Assessment: Submarine Telegraphy–The Transatlantic Cable of 1866. Vary T. Coates , Bernard Finn Joel A. Tarr Isis 1981 72:2, 310-311
This book examines case studies of submarine telegraphy and talks about what society was like before the development took place: the introduction of submarine cables, with focus on the transatlantic cables of the 1860. Submarine cables brought significant changes in many institutions, ranging from shipping and commerce to diplomacy and military organizations, and gave mankind a whole new capability related to the basic functions of organized society.
2. History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry.” EHnet, Economic History Association , eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-the-u-s-telegraph-industry/.
This piece from the Economic History Association outlines different types of telegraphs, and the economic ramifications the telegraph had. After Morse received a patent from the United States government, he worked to try and sell it to the government, as well as to different business groups. The telegraph market then became a multilateral oligopoly as different business interests used the telegraph cables to perform different tasks. From 1866 through 1900 Western Union essentially ran a monopoly over sending telegraphs, but consumer access to the market increased. In 1867 5.8 million people sent a telegraph while it cost $1.09, and in 1900 63.2 million people sent a telegraph costing $0.30. Finally, the decline of the telegraph during the great depression is discussed as the merger between Western Union and Postal was not enough to fend off the incoming telecommunications company named AT&T.
3. Imagining the Internet, Elon University School of Communications , www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/150/1830.xhtml.
This piece from Elon University’s School of Communications outlines a brief history of the telegraph and how it was developed by Samuel Morse. Moreover, it touches on Morse developing Morse Code and implementing that into different versions of the telegraph. Lastly, the social ramifications of the telegraph are discussed such as once telegraph cables were stretched from coast to coast, messages were sent frequently across different continents to spread news and information.
4. McGillem, Clare D. “Telegraph.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 7 Dec. 2016, www.britannica.com/technology/telegraph.
This piece from Encyclopedia Britannica details the history and uses of the telegraph both before it harnessed electricity and had a functioning battery and after. Before the development of the electric telegraph, visual systems were used to convey messages over distances by means of variable displays. Lastly, the article focused on the earliest applications of the telegraph such as being used to transmit the news for outlets like the Associated Press, and developments in 1865 which resulted in international communication through the first transatlantic cables.
5. Molloy, Bob. “KD2UJ.Com.” KD2UJ Telegraphy – Parts of a Key, KD2UJ, www.kd2uj.com/telegraphy/my_keys/keyparts.html.
From this website, we obtained a picture of a telegraph with the parts of it labeled. Moreover, the website also detailed what the different parts do when sending a message. It described the anvil, base, circuit closer, contact gap adjustment, contact strap, frame, front, hammer, knob, lever, lower contact, rear, spring tension adjustment, trunnions, upper contact, vibroplex wedge lip and the wiring post.
6. Office of the Historian. “‘What Hath God Wrought’ The House and the Telegraph | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.” Telegraph | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/Electronic-Technology/Telegraph/.
This piece from the History, Art and Archives section of the website for the United States House of Representatives outlines how the United States government used the telegraph. First, Morse was the first one to receive funding from Congress to build the telegraph and make sure it could work. From there, there was a telegraph set up in the Capitol that sent out important updates as to what was going on. At the time of the Civil War, the telegraph assisted the federal government as it tracked troop developments and provided military and political officials for the first time with updated, real time developments during wartime
7. Poole, Ian. “Morse Telegraph Key History & Development.” Electronics Notes, Electronics Notes, 6 Apr. 2016, www.electronics-notes.com/articles/history/morse-code-telegraph/morse-key-development.php”.
This piece from Electronics Notes focuses on the creation and development of the Morse Key and the ramifications it had for people who used the telegraph. The Morse Key had developments such as the Camelback Morse Key, the Steel lever key, and different modifications the military made to the Morse Key during times of war to make the telegraph a more effective communications device.
8. Stamp, Jimmy. “How the Telegraph Went From Semaphore to Communication Game Changer.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 11 Oct. 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-the-telegraph-went-from-semaphore-to-communication-game-changer-1403433/.
This piece from the Smithsonian Magazine goes through the creation of the telegraph, and Samuel Morse’s struggle to find a design that made sense. It also focused on the modifications made to the telegraph after its creation, as Morse and others looked for ways to make it more effective. Lastly, it touched on some of the immediate ramifications in the United States after the first message was sent. These ramifications were manifested as within the next 10 years after the first telegraph was sent in 1844, 23,000 miles of telegraph wire crossed the country and the made a significant impact on westward development
9. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Morse Code.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 22 Mar. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Morse-Code.
This piece from Encyclopedia Britannica outlines what Morse Code is, and how it was developed by Samuel Morse. After Morse created this language consisting of dots and dashes depending on the length of the message, Alfred Vail improved Morse Code because it was not adequate for languages other than English. Lastly, an international Morse Code was eventually created which used dashes of constant length rather than the variable lengths used in the original Morse Code.
10. “The First Electric Telegraph in 1837 Revolutionised Communications.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 2 Dec. 2016, www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/connecting-britain/first-electric-telegraph/.
This piece from The Telegraph details the creation and usage of the telegraph in the United Kingdom as well as the ramifications of it. One of the original goals of the telegraph in the United Kingdom was to help improve safety on the railways, as well as facilitate long distance communication for news organizations. Moreover, during World War I, the telegraph for the first time became associated with bringing bad news of deaths and casualties. Finally, around 1912 The Telephone Company was nationalized and the improvements made to the telephone network resulted in a decline of the telegraph.
11. Timmons, Greg. “Samuel F. B. Morse.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 6 Jan. 2016, www.biography.com/people/samuel-morse.
This piece from the website Biography details an in-depth biography of Samuel Morse who created both the telegraph and Morse Code. Before Morse created the telegraph, he was a painter, and made portraits of the Marquis de Lafayette, as well as George Washington. After traveling to Europe in the 1830’s, he met the inventor Charles Thomas Jackson, and they discussed how an electronic impulse could be carried along a wire for long distances. Morse traveled back to the United States and with the help of Alfred Vail created the telegraph and received congressional funding for it. Morse’s history as a painter helped him come up with Morse Code of different sizes and shapes of dots and dashes.
12. Trainor, Sean. “How Samuel Morse and the Telegraph Still Influence Your Life.” Time, Time, 27 Apr. 2016, time.com/4307892/samuel-morse-telegraph-history/.
This piece from Time Magazine gives a background on Samuel Morse and outlines his process for ultimately creating the telegraph. Morse’s career mostly dealt with being an artist and photographer, and saw the chance the rebrand himself as an inventor as an opportunity he could not turn down. After crafting a telegraph prototype, Morse secured funding from Congress to help him advance his technology in ways he never thought possible.
