The telegraph By: Gina Benevides

The Market Revolution and the emergence of the Industrial Revolution. The Market Revolution emerged in the 19th century. The Market Revolution is the expansion of the marketplace, and the radical transformation of America’s economy from local markets to a National market. The Market Revolution differed greatly from the old colonial economy as instead of making products for personal consumption, products were now made for a world wide consumer. Supply and demand came into play now as farmers went from working on farms for themselves to working in factories, where they worked for a boss and received a wage; a fixed regular payment made by an employer to the employee. Quantity was valued far more than the quality of the products. Mass production lead to things like interchangeable parts, innovations, and assembly lines that changed the way products were being consumed and workers were being looked at. It changed the way we looked at jobs and our economy and making a profit and a living. The ways in which this lead to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution was it was starting point for the major advancements in technology, transportation, and manufacturing. Factories were being brought up everywhere worldwide. Machines replaced people as new means of manufacturing came about; faster and more effective ways. The new shift in economy lead to the production of the invention, the telegraph! It allowed for the telegraph to break through as inventions and innovations were thrown up high into the air. The economy was advancing in ways to make life and jobs easier and more profitable for daily consumers. Apart of those innovations and inventions was the telegraph who allowed for faster and easier communication over long and short distances. Without any of these two major revolutions things that we have today, such as our cell phones and internet, may not even exist until another 20 or 100 years!

What is the telegraph? The telegraph is a system used for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire Invented by Samuel B. Morse in 1834 Revolutionized long distance and communication Developed a system of Morse Code to be able to read the messages Sets of dots and dashes for each designated letter

The significance: Connecting the world in unimaginable ways.. Advanced war tactics. Information at your fingertips. The telegraph was a very handy aid to the Union in winning the Civil War. Lincoln was able to have almost instantaneous conversation and connection with his forces, helping to aid them in the battlefield, which was once impossible. This helped to shape the way wars and armed conflicts were going to be fought in the US. There was no more hearing hear explosions 20 miles away, and not knowing if it’s your troops or the enemies. Now they would know what type of aid was needed to assist their troops. The American public, during the Industrial Revolution had to wait days and weeks to receive, and send important information. This was extremely inconvenient as it took so long for them to be updated on very important events going on in the world, or their loved ones lives. Knowing important dates and dire information about loved ones at war took so painstakingly long that once the information was received it was almost useless. Then, once the telegraph was designed and patented in 1843, the general public was able to send and receive messages on two ends drastically faster. However, the distance of the communication was very short at first.

Cont… Expansion and connection. Economic effect. The telegraph had a great economic effect as it allowed for money to be “wired” across great distances. Meaning long- distance transactions were able to take place. Farmers from the South could receive lines of credit from bankers in the North or far from home all the way in Europe. The greatest impact that the telegraph had on society was it connected the US with one another and with very far distant lands. Through its many advancements the telegraph was able to reach areas across the Atlantic Ocean. Before being able to transmit and receive messages from those areas and even in the North and South of our own country took days and even weeks by either boat or horse or etc. The economy was able to expand greatly as a result of the vast distances we could now reach easier and faster. Our ties with Europe were strengthened as rapid communication was able to go on between the two and many others thanks to the telegraph.

Driving force of the growing divide in the North and South. The Industrial Revolution was one of the major driving forces between the North and the South. The economy of the colonies of both the North and the South was based on agriculture. However, as the Industrial Revolution came about more industries popped up in the North than they did in the South. Farmers became workers as machines replaced people. The labor forces in the North were based off of skilled workers due to the influx of immigration there. While, the labor of the South was run on the enslavement of African Americans for free. Owners didn’t have to pay them a wage and were making a very heavy profit off of them as opposed to workers in the North who were paid wages by their bosses. As a result, the societies between the North and the South began to differ very much, Many farmers began to flock to the North, where all the cities were based around industries were, in search of jobs. The economy of the North switched to industries as the South stayed with agriculture. The society of the North was very dependent on factories and the South on plantations. The North wanted a strong Federal government to support their lifestyle. Where as, the South wanted a weak Federal government to support their lifestyle, and let their business be up to the states and not up to the Federal government. The North didn’t agree with the slavery happening in the South and wanted Congress to interfere. This upset the South greatly as they wanted Congress to stay out of the business of the states because of state rights. Thus leading to 11 free states and 11 slave states.

Where the telegraph plays a role in this division… The telegraph allowed for better, easier, and faster communication over very long and short distances. You may be thinking that this would enable a unity between the North and the South, not a divide. However, this is very incorrect as the telegraph clearly showed the difference and divide in the societies of the North and the South; industrial society vs. agricultural society. The South didn’t take as much use from the telegraph as the North did. For, much like the railroads the South was very unenthusiastic to use them. While the North was advancing with all the new inventions being brought about, the South was pushing them away and only using them as a way to influx their agriculture trade and production. The South took away from the whole movement of the Industrial Revolution into a society of “good capitalism” with advancements and “equality in the workplace” as women were now able to work without being frowned upon. Their rejection of the telegraph and many other inventions showed the South’s resistance to an advancing society towards one with no more slaves and “no more inequality” present primarily in the South.