Early Electronic Communication:

Morse’s Telegraph

1. Compare and contrast Morse’s telegraph and other contributing inventions and decide which one was the most important to the Industrial Revolution.

2. Be able to signal and understand a message in Morse Code after completing the activity.

* Note that underlined words are the answers to the worksheet.

Objectives

Invented by Claude Chappe Used flag-based alphabet Required a line of sight

The Beginning: Non-electric Telegraph

Invented by William Sturgeon Laid foundations for future creations

The Beginning: Electromagnet

Used Sturgeon’s electromagnet to experiment with other ideas

Sent an electric current through wire causing a bell to ring

The Beginning: Joseph Henry

Was a professor of chemistry interested in Joseph Henry’s creation

Published article reflecting on Henry’s creation about a possible way to create an electric telegraph

Article was crucial to Morse’s invention

The Beginning: Leonard D. Gale

Idea to create telegraph came to him when returning from Europe in 1832 when he understood how the electromagnet worked

He built his first telegraph out of basic materials including a picture frame, a table, and lead pieces.

This worked but was ignored He had to wait twelve years before trying

again ◦ He was in debt and had no food

He did not give up

Samuel Morse: Starting Out

Failed as a painter Turned his attention to the telegraph again He was still very poor and had to make the

most of his materials He found small pieces of wire and tied them

together Demonstrated his progress in the fall of 1837

◦ He strung ten miles of wire around a classroom◦ He invited business men who could possibly invest

in his invention◦ No one liked it except Alfred Vail

Samuel Morse: Trying Again

Alfred Vail became his partner and was crucial to Morse’s success

They worked together to improve the telegraph

First model used marker to record message Next model used notched metal rod to

transfer messages Eventually, they changed the code and

finished with a series of dots and dashes◦ Often used letters such as vowels had shorter

codes

Samuel Morse: Improving the Invention

Asked Congress for money ◦ Request was approved

A young women notified him of Congress’s support◦ Morse let the young lady choose the first message

to be sent over wires Message was sent on May 24, 1844

◦ “What hath God wrought” was sent from Numbers 23:23 in the Bible

Message was received in Baltimore by Alfred Vail

Samuel Morse: The Final Product

Samuel Morse: Results People were more interested in Morse and his

telegraph It was now easy to send detailed messages from one

person to another quickly Later, translators worked to convert Morse code into

words◦ A skilled translator could transmit 40-50 words per minute◦ An automatic transmission was developed later to transmit twice as many words per minute

Telegraph lines connected Europe and America

Had a great influence on businesses◦ They could communicate easily with other

businesses◦ As a result, they could connect with each other

and eventually even merge together to become one big business which would make even more money

◦ Thy could work faster and more efficiently

Samuel Morse: Results Continued

The electric telegraph was a creation that greatly influenced the Industrial Revolution because it changed the lives of many people by providing machinery that could help one communicate.

Before this, people had to use flag signals which took a long time, were inconvenient, and made detailed messages impossible.

Relationship to the Industrial Revolution in the United States

Samuel Morse was a determined inventor◦ He never gave up even when in debt◦ He was focused and knew he could create an

electric telegraph He successfully used the experiments of

others to invent an electric telegraph that was quick and convenient◦ Used William Sturgeon’s electromagnet◦ Improved Joseph Henry’s progress in creating the

telegraph

Conclusion

When I compared and contrasted the inventions of Joseph Henry, William Sturgeon, and Samuel Morse, I thought that William Sturgeon’s creation of the electromagnet was the most important since Henry’s and Morse’s inventions could not have been created without this knowledge.

Conclusion Continued

Step 1: Break up into groups of two or threes.

Step 2: Using your hand, tap a simple message one the desk to one another using the following chart. Lift your hand quickly for a dot and leave your hand on the desk for a dash. For our purposes, slide your hand across the desk for a space in between words.

Morse Code Activity Directions

Morse Code Activity

“Semaphore Cartoon 1.” Cartoonstock.com. Web. 26 March 2010.

“The History of Radio at a Glance.” Spacetoday.org. Web. 26 March 2010.

Geary, Cindy Waszak. “First Love.” Cindy Waszak Geary Photography. Web. 26 March 2010

“Leonard Gale’s Pictures.” 123People.com. Web. 26 March 2010.

H., Richard. “Alfred Vail.” Findagrave.com. Web. 26 March 2010.

Cooper, Rachel. “Morse-Vail Telegraph Key.” About.com. Web. 26 March 2010.

Works Cited