The Electrical Telegraph
Samuel Morse first perceived the telegraph as a practical invention and his successful achievement occurred in September of 1837. He also invented Morse code, or an alphabet or code in which letters are represented by combinations of long and short signals of light, sound, or a series of dots and dashes. he electromagnetic telegraph worked by having the message sender click dashes and dots to create or break transmission between the machine’s battery and receiver. The direct-current electricity came from gravity batteries that were the weak point in the 1835 model. Thus Morse replaced the original one-cell battery with a 20-cell battery, and 100 turns of wire were wound around the electromagnet. By Oct. 3, 1837, the device could transmit through 10 miles of wire. Then on January 6, 1838, at Vail's Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey Morse demonstrated his device successfully. He gave another successful demonstration on January 24 at New York University, and on Feb. 21, 1838, Morse effectively demonstrated his telegraph to President Van Buren and the Cabinet in Washington.
The telegraph affected many businesses across America. Once it was invented the had a new way to communicate with their buyers in other states. Their supplies were being sent cross-country and before the telegraph they could only discuss business face to face or by letter or messenger. But now they could use morse code to discuss prices and delivery options. The telegraph gave businessmen a great step forward. Also in the civil war, generals and commanders used the telegraph to give and receive orders faster. The telegraph affected the civil war so that without it, the winners today might not be the same. The telegraph evolved into the telephone and then into what we know today. The Telegraph greatly affected America.
Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse was born in 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. His father was a Congregational minister and a scholar of high standing. He had two brothers, Richard and Sidney. All three went Yale college at the age of fourteen. His professors who greatest affected his invention were Benjamin Silliman and Jeremiah Day. His (Morse) first job selection was to be a painter. He married Lucretia Walker in 1818, and she died in 1825. They had three children, and after her death, Samuel was forced to support them on his painting. In the autumn of 1832 was when he first really started thinking of the telegraph.
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