What differences and similarities existed between the development and the social work of the telegraph and the telephone?

Telephone popularity saw an increase in the early 1900's. The telephone began to appear all over the place. The telephone began to be looked upon as a necessity, "By this time the telephone was settling into national consciousness as a fixed and permanent part of American life."2 The telephone allowed people to interact with other types of individuals, and this ability intrigued the American public. The telephone made it possible for contact to take place with people who normally can not because of being apart by large distances. People want to communicate quickly with others, and the telephone makes this happen. By this time the telephone was not a luxury good, but necessary for survival. Cities especially, saw the telephone as an essential part of society; "Literally telephone service is a life-and-death matter to the citizens of every urban community in America."3 Although the telephone was popular in cities, it was surprisingly popular in the rural Midwest. The telephone created a need to know what took place in the world. The Midwest was not as densely populated and the telephone developed an excellent way to communicate the news of the day amongst surrounding communities. Before, one would have to rely on the news spreading via word

In 1843, Morse and Vail received funding from the U.S. Congress to set up and test their telegraph system between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. On May 24, 1844, Morse sent Vail the historic first message: “What hath God wrought!” The telegraph system subsequently spread across America and the world, aided by further innovations. Among these improvements was the invention of good insulation for telegraph wires. The man behind this innovation was Ezra Cornell (1807-74), one of the founders of the university in New York that bears his name. Another improvement, by the famed inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) in 1874, was the Quadruplex system, which allowed for four messages to be transmitted simultaneously using the same wire (par 6).

In the book, The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s On-line Pioneers, author Tom Standage discusses the highly anticipated discovery and advancement of the telegraph telegraphic communications. Mr. Standage is a well-known and reputable British deputy editor at The Economist who specializes in science and technology. The meticulous and informative selection about historical communication, The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage presents an ideal title, which reminds the people that today’s Internet is just an interpretation of what had already been discovered and that its controversies

In “The Changes Wrought by Cotton, Transportation, and Communication” by Daniel Waker Howe, the author discusses how the decades following the War of 1812 were marked by a, “communication revolution” (232) that led to an expansion in transportation, communication, press, and the market economy.

was changing. Technology, entertainment and the population all saw intense differences. We owe much to the technologies of the late 19th century. This age included the development of communication technology including the

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, February 11, 1847. The Edisons came from Holland in 1730 first settling in Elizabethport, New Jersey. The Edisons’ had a long proclaimed history of long lived males, with his great grandfather living until 104 and his grandfather until the matured age of 102. Back in the early 1800s, the Edison family fled to Canada among many others interested in the loyalist movement that offered a 600 acre grant to those who moved to the province of Nova Scotia. Thomas Edison’s grandfather was born on Canadian soil, thus hindering the detailed reports of Edison family. Many years later, Samuel Edison was born and without much money in the family. Not much is known about Samuel’s life besides wedding Miss Nancy

As a young child, Morse was born into his family on April 27, 1791, in Charleston, Massachusetts. His father was named Jedidiah Morse, and his mother was named Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese. He had a brother named Sidney Edwards Morse, and he had two sisters named Sarah K. Morse and Mary K. Morse. He studied at Phillips Academy often wasting time drawing. He went to Yale College for his later years and was determined to be a better student.

The nineteenth century America was a period of history following a number of long lasting wars and also a whole new start to new changes in society. With the collapse of multiple nations that were in contact towards the United States, it paved the way for the growing influence and development for the United States, spurring military imperialism and conflicts, and advances in scientific exploration and technologies. Because of the ideas and resources that were began to spread, develop and flourish in areas of the western hemisphere, the nineteenth century also saw opportunities in construction, communication, and in particular the transportation systems. But as different aspects of society began to improve and that more and more freedom

Even born in a small town you can accomplish anything. Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Samuel Morse was the first born child of Jedidiah and Elisabeth Morse. His parents really wanted Samuel to commit to his education, and his Calvinist religion. Samuel went to a mediocre school, Phillips Academy, for art, before attending Yale College. After he graduated college at Yale, Samuel wanted to have a career as a painter, but his father wanted him to have a more prestigious career than painting. His father arranged for him to be an apprentice at a bookstore in Boston. However, Samuel still had a love for art, so his dad allowed him to go to England for a better study

If you have ever opened up a phone (do not try this at home, you might

Every child has a dream, to pursue the dream is in any child’s hand to make it reality (Samuel Morse). Samuel Morse was born April 27, 1791 in Charlestown Massachusetts. He wanted to pursue a career in art, but his dad had other ideas. When he went to Yale university he focused on art but found an interest in electricity. Samuel Morse graduated from Yale as an artist, but his father desired a bigger job so he arranged for Morse to be an apprentice a bookstore in boston. Morse continued in art and his father let him. In 1832 Morse met the inventor Charles Thomas Jackson who he had a take to about how electronic impulse could be carried along a wire for long distances. That was the moment when Morse wanted to be an inventor.

Though as a young child he liked to pull many pranks especially at school. At age 12 he liked to sell newspapers to passengers at the Grand Trunk Railroad. Later in the years he started publishing his own newspapers, he called his business the Grand Trunk Herald. That had sparked his ideas for becoming an entrepreneur in his future. He got permission to set up his own lab on a train car. One day he caught the train car on fire. The conductor rushed in and hit him in the head, that is probably the reason he was slightly deaf. At age 15 he saved a child that was stuck in the train tracks. In return the child’s father taught him how to operate a telegraph. He then moved throughout the midwest becoming a telegrapher. At age 19 he started studying electrical science and was becoming more familiar with it. He came back home to find his family in need. He decided to go to Boston and get a job there. He was a telegrapher for a while before he started making inventions. His first invention, the phonograph, was the first invention to record sound, and then play it back. It helped to change the way we listen to music. This was the start to his career and many

What I started to realize was that I can remember a time when if you wanted to keep in touch with someone you actually had to mail them a letter. My father used to tell me stories about how he used to listen to the Lone Range every week on the AM radio. But I remember watching Buck Rogers and Star Trek on a tiny little black and white TV and what it felt like when we got our first color TV set. Who knew that bugs bunny actually was still grey on a color TV or that Jerry was brown and Tom, well he still had a hard time catching that mouse no matter what color he was. Now when I watch my young children playing the Wii on the 55 inch HD plasma TV I remember my first game of Pong I played on my Radio Shack TRS-80. I also remember having to go home to make a phone call and often listen as my children are talking on my cell phone while we drive to grammas’ house. Then to top it off is that they don’t know what life was like before the internet. So I decided to it would be more interesting to take a historical walk through of some of the most significant technology and telecommunications developments that I have been so privileged to see develop in my lifetime.

By the 1850s, predictions regarding the impact of the new medium abounded, including statements about how it would make countries further connected, how it would change politics and business and how it would make newspapers obsolete. All of the same statements were later made in the 1990s, when people were astonished at the potential of the Internet. Whatever expectations and predictions people had about the telegraph, they were right about one thing: the telegraph would be consequential over the course of history. The introduction of the telegraph had an influence in communications on a large global scale, and altered both diplomacy and society. To sum up the impact the telegraph had on the financial realm of the world, “While a British tramp freighter steamed from Calcutta to New York, a broker in London was arranging by telegram for it to carry an American cargo to Australia. World commodity prices were also instantaneously conveyed by the same network of communications” (Buckler, et al., 2006). The telegraph marked the first huge advance of communication technology since the printing press, and this milestone allowed

The fact that during the beginning of this century many developments occurred both with the internet and with telephony must be considered. The major developments were the availability of the internet on small machines like the mobile, PDA and