THE TELEGRAPH AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION:
"The telegraph is used in this country by all classes, except the very poorest, the same as the mail. A man leaves his family for a week or a month ; he telegraphs them of his health and whereabouts from time to time. In the towns about New York the most ordinary messages are sent in this way; a joke, an invitation to a party, an inquiry about health, &c. In our business we use it continually. The other day two different men from Montreal wanted credit, and had no references ; we said, ' Very well ; look at the goods, and we will see about it.' Meanwhile we asked our friends in Montreal, 'Are Pump and Prosper good for one hundred dollars each?' The answer was immediately returned, and we acted accordingly; probably much to our customers' surprise. The charge was a dollar for each message, distance about 500 miles, but much further by telegraph, as it has to go around to avoid the water."- The electric telegraph: its history and progress by Highton Edward, 1852.
The telegraph was a pivotal innovation during the industrial revolution, a turning point that took place in the 18th century allowing for agricultural societies to shift to an industrialized and urban society. The prominent growth of transportation during this time period can be demonstrated by the usage of telegraphs through railroads, allowing for instant communication between far-flung stations and the whole rail system. Railroads, in turn, improved American life by allowing goods to be transported long distances, thus making more goods available to more people at a cheaper price. Additionally, this innovation positively altered big businesses and its operations through the improvement of communication within factories and buyers, it allowed for transfers of money in businesses that ameliorated the American life through a growth in jobs.
Western Union Telegraph Co. “To the press the electric telegraph is an invention of immense value. It is the advantage of the tele-graph that it gives you the news before circumstances have had time to alter. The press is enabled to lay it fresh and fresh before the reader. I am afraid that the columns of the daily newspapers would now seem flat, dull, and stale to the reader were it not for the communications of the telegraph.” Journal Of The Telegraph, Volumes 1 & 2, 1867.