The Birth of a Groundbreaking Invention...Stop
A photograph of Morse believed to be taken in 1840
Today, it is possible to send a message from New York to Washington D.C in an instant. In 1843, it would take hours if not days. Back in those days, the quickest way to transfer information was by rail based mail couriers. Yet as the nation approached the middle of the 19th century and began rapidly industrializing, the need for a quicker method of communication grew. Enter Samuel Morse: a painter turned inventor who would change the future of communications in the United States and beyond.
It is very likely that most people in the United States have seen Morse's invention in film. A character will dictate to a person pressing a button ending their phrase with one word: stop.
This invention, the telegraph, played a major part in the development of the nation and its industrialization. The system would help Lincoln win the Civil War as well as carry the last message of the ill fated RMS Titanic. The telegraph and its main user, Western Union, would bring the edges of the U.S. together like never before through rapid, efficient communication.
And incredible story had its beginnings just over 150 years ago, in a small office in the original chamber of the Supreme Court in the U.S. Capitol Building. The inaugural message, sent on May 24, 1844, contained the results of the Democratic National Convention and the acceptance of Henry Clay for the Whig nomination. Morse, being present, exclaimed, “what has god wrought” — a quote from the book of numbers. The telegraph was overseen by the Postmaster General, Cave Johnston and its operator was Morse’s business partner, Alfred Vail, who sent the message from Baltimore.
Perhaps more incredible is that within twenty short years of this first message being sent, a telegraph line was laid from the U.S. to Europe: Making Trans-Atlantic communication via Morse’s devise possible. Communication that would previously take months could be done in moments using Samuel Morse’s magic wires. Domestically, people could contact any city in the US for a lower fee than Morse's competitors. This commercialization is what made the telegraph take off as a commodity. Capitalizing on this, Morse was given a space in the General Post Office on 700 F St NW in 1845.
The old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C. where Morse was given office space
Under Western Union, which is still in operation today, private communiques were sent all over the nation. By 1891, the world was connected by Morse’s wires. If one had the money and access, they could sit in San Francisco and send a message to Shanghai. If one was to follow that message across the wires, it would nearly circumnavigate the globe. It all becomes even more mind blowing that this was all possible during the same year that Authur Conan Doyle would premiere his famous detective Sherlock Holmes.
The Global Telegraph Network in the year 1891
The next major improvement would be the ability to transfer, or “wire”, money across the globe. Today, this is still the main function of the Western Union Company. Sadly, the telegraph would be more of a flash than a steady burn. By the turn of the century, more effective methods of communication were being used by governments and business. However, the telegraph remained popular with the general public with Western Union delivering their final message in 2006. Culturally however, the telegraph would be cemented as the harbinger of bad news given its use in the Second World War. Due to the rural nature of much of the country in those days, the easiest way to inform families about military casualties was by telegraph.
Morse’s original telegraph patent
Today the telegraph, is seen as a major part of America's story as it brought the nation together like never before. Wars were fought, seas traversed, and greetings sent all through that thin copper wire. It's hard in the digital age to be amazed by such a feat but the phone you hold in your hand was born of the need to be in faster connection with others: not only by governments or armies but by normal everyday people.
That journey began in a small office in Washington D.C, a thread of the tapestry of accomplishment found in our nation's capital.
Samuel Morse is only one of the amazing cast of characters that shaped our nation's history from Washington. If you would like to know the stories of the other incredible inventors, statement and pioneers: Historic America offers a tour of the Chinatown area where the above events took place.