The Telegraph: "The Wonder Working Wire"

The creation of the telegraph provided Americans with the capability to quickly and efficienty communicate over great distances in the nineteen century. Samuel F.B. Morse patented the telegraph on June 20, 1840. Thus he is credited as the inventor of it, although the telegraph was developed through scientific knowledge gained by a variety of scientists who layed the groundwork in the field of electromagnetism and experiments of sending messages electronically through wire in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The telegraph was a machine that electronically transmitted messages through wire. The messages sent were refered to as Morse code, each letter and number were symbolized by a dot or a dash. By tapping the key of the machine operators were able to send electronic pulses to communicate a message to a receiver. On May 22, 1844 the first telegraph message was sent and became "a stunning technical success...for the entire nation stood awed by the speed and precision of the 'wonder working wire." Telegraph wires began to parallel railroad lines, changing the American government, newspapers, buisnesses as well as everyday life through cheap and efficient communication over large distances. The wire began changing the world in 1866 when the underwater transatlantic cable linked communication between the United States and Europe. This was a grand accomplishment for an acclaimed painter who was not a scientist but devoted himself to creating this revolutionary machine.

Questions
1. Although Samuel F.B. Morse patented the idea of the telegraph, do you believe that his receiving sole credit for the invention was fair given the scientific groundwork others had provided closely related to his invention? explain.
2. Given what an impact the telegraph made on communication, if Morse had not created it how do you think buisnesses, the government , railroads, and the lives of everyday people would have been effected? How long would it have taken our Nation to find other ways to become united (through communication)?