The Electrical Telegraph - MAS 110 Major Work
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Critically analyse the electrical telegraph, explaining the social
contexts of its creation, how it shaped society, how society
shaped it, and how it has influenced contemporary
technology (if at all)
The electrical telegraph represented a broader societal shift away from
communal isolation, and towards the creation of a truly global community,
marked by the gradual effects of shrinking time and space. The electrical
telegraph came to shape and mould its era, and continued to shape
contemporary technology within the 21stCentury. Therefore, the creation of the
electrical telegraph in 1836 came to be one of the most influential technologies.
The electrical telegraph was created amidst a time of social and cultural change.
Developed in 1836, the electrical telegraph was created in a time of great
technological advances and innovation. The telegraph was, however, one of the
first technologies of the era that utilised electricity, which would later become a
challenge in the widespread adoption of the telegraph1. Additionally, it was also
a time of great hostility, particularly in the US, as portents of the Civil War were
threatening to tear it [USA] apart2. Importantly, the telegraph was also created
within a different economical mind frame, in that business was personal, and
1 Ely, R. (1889). The Telegraph Monopoly. The North American Review,
149(392), 44-532 Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:
Unwin Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-230
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was conducted in a face-to-face manner3. Furthermore, there was a growing
sense of universalism, marked by the creation of the Brotherhood of Man. They
grew to believe that all people where the same, and that connectivity, which
truly began under the telegraph, would end communal isolation4. Therefore, it
can be seen that when the electrical telegraph was created, amidst a time of
social ideals and cultural change.
The electrical telegraph did not shape society in isolation, but rather, as it began
to shape society, society changed and shaped the function and nature of the
telegraph. An example of this would be the impact of the electrical telegraph on
economics. The telegraph ushered in the first great industrial monopoly,
Western Union5, and significantly re-wrote parts of the American Law during the
telegraph war, which was the fight over the ownership of the quadraplex
telegraph system6. The telegraph was a new and distinctly different force of
production that demanded a new body of law, economy theory, political
arrangements, management techniques, organisational structures and scientific
rationales7. As the telegraph came to shape economics, people also began to
shape the telegraph. For example, the decline of the process of arbitrage, brought
about by the improvements in communications technology, evened markets,
3 Headrick, D., & Griset, P. (2001). Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and
Politics, 1839-1939. The Business History Review, 75(3), 543-5784 Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:
Unwin Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-2305 Western Union Telegraph Building. (1875). The Aldine, 7(13), 258-2326 Carey, J. op. cit. pp. 201-2307 Ibid. pp. 201-230
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making them unresponsive to local supply and demand8. In addition to this,
commodity was sundered from its representation, meaning that trading could
proceed independently of the actual physical movement of goods9. Similar to the
concept of money, there was the changing notion of the economy of signal. The
telegraph physically shaped society, through the placement of telegraph poles
and wires10. Another societal change experienced under the telegraph was the
changing nature of language. The telegraph reworked the nature and language of
journalism. In order to be understood, the language of the telegraph demanded
one that was stripped of any local, regional, or colloquial terms11. The very
nature of the telegraph eliminated the correspondent who described events in
details, and replaced him with only the bare facts; as words were expensive on
the telegraph, it separated the observer from the writer12. The sparseness of
the telegraphic prose and the sheer volume of it, allowed news to be treated like
a commodity, it became something that could be transported, measured,
reduced, and timed13. Additionally, the electrical telegraph also changed the way
in which communication was thought about. The emergence of the Brotherhood
of Man represents the growing desire to reduce island communities, and also
changed the way in which people thought about time, in particular, the
8 Headrick, D., & Griset, P. (2001). Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and
Politics, 1839-1939. The Business History Review, 75(3), 543-5789 Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:
Unwin Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-23010 Holmes, E. (1993). Are Diffusion Models too Simple? A Comparison with
Telegraph Models of Invasion. The American Naturalist, 142(5), 779-79511 Carey, J. op. cit. pp. 201-23012 Ibid. pp. 201-23013 Hoag, C. (2006). The Atlantic Telegraph Cable and Capital Market Information
Flows. The Journal of Economic History, 66(2), 342-353
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standardising of it14. Furthermore, the birth of the telegraph heralded an almost
religious aspect. The idea of electricity, and electronic messages was an entirely
new concept, with users referring to telegraph as rhetoric of the electrical
sublime15. Moreover, the telegraph generated the ground conditions for
domestic and international imperialism. To Carey, it is of no accident that the
words empire and imperialism entered the language in 1870, soon after the
laying of the transatlantic cable16. Until the transatlantic cable, it was difficult to
determine whether British colonial policy was being set in London, or by colonial
governors in the field. It was the cable and the telegraph, backed by sea power,
that turned colonialism into imperialism. Therefore, it can be seen that the
electrical telegraph did not shape society in isolation, but rather the two forces
shaped each other together.
It can be seen that the electrical telegraph had a profound impact on its original
society and context; however, the improvements and conventions established by
the electrical telegraph have also come to influence contemporary technologies
and society. One of the most far-reaching influences of the telegraph, was the
separation of communication and transport17. No longer did trains and other
forms of transport deliver messages, but rather, it was conducted by the much
faster service of the electrical telegraph. Therefore, it can be seen that the
14 Du Boff, B. (1980). Business Demand and the Development of the Telegraph in
the United States, 1844-1860. The Business History Review, 54(4), 459-47915 Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:
Unwin Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-23016 Ibid. pp. 201-23017 Panayiota, T. (2009). Reconceptualising Time and Space in the Era of
Electronic Media and Communications. Journal of Media and Communication,
26(1), 11-32
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electrical telegraph paved the way for globalisation, as it began to shrink time
and space. This notion of shrinking time and space, also relates to the
development of contemporary technologies, such as Instant Messaging, which
allows for instantaneous messages to be sent worldwide18. Additionally, the
technological power of the telegraph led to the standardisation of time within
the US, which has come to have a massive influence on modern society19.
Therefore, the electrical telegraph had an extensive impact and influence on
contemporary technology and society.
In conclusion, it can be seen that the electrical telegraph was a pivotal and
essential technology. It represented a broader societal shift away from
communal isolation, and towards the creation of a truly global community,
coming to shape and mould its era; it continued to shape contemporary
technology within the 21stCentury. Therefore, it can be seen that the creation of
the electrical telegraph came to be one of the most influential technologies.
18 Panayiota, T. (2009). Reconceptualising Time and Space in the Era of
Electronic Media and Communications. Journal of Media and Communication,
26(1), 11-3219Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston:
Unwin Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-230
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Bibliography
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Carey, J. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston: Unwin
Hyman, chapter 8: pp. 201-230
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the United States, 1844-1860. The Business History Review, 54(4), 459-479
Ely, R. (1889). The Telegraph Monopoly. The North American Review, 149(392),44-53
Headrick, D., & Griset, P. (2001). Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and
Politics, 1839-1939. The Business History Review, 75(3), 543-578
Hoag, C. (2006). The Atlantic Telegraph Cable and Capital Market Information
Flows. The Journal of Economic History, 66(2), 342-353
Holmes, E. (1993). Are Diffusion Models too Simple? A Comparison with
Telegraph Models of Invasion. The American Naturalist, 142(5), 779-795
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