Development of Communication essay
Traditionally, communication technologies played an extremely important part in the social, political and economic life. At the same time, contemporary communication technologies are totally different from communication technologies of the past. At this point, it is possible to refer to the evolution of communication technologies in the late 18th – first half of the 19th century in the US, when the postal service of the US was just at the dawn of its development, while such technologies as telegraph have just started to be introduced. Nevertheless, the analysis of the history of communication technology in the US since the late 18th to the mid-19th century reveals the fact that communication technology developed in the US dynamically. In the course of more than half a century, the postal service of the US had introduced the telegraph service, while the Pony Express was replaced by the Railway mail system. At the same time, the development of the communication technology in the US mirrored the overall technological progress of the US and stimulated the fast economic development of the country.
Thesis
Therefore, the emergence of communication technology in the late 18th – mid-19th century accelerated economic development and enhanced fundamental democratic institutions and principles stimulating the development of print media and communication nationwide, while technologies introduced in the field of communication mirrored the technological breakthrough the US had made in the course of this timeline.
II Background
By the late 18th century, the US had just gained the independence of Great Britain, while the process of colonization of America carried on and settlers expanded their territories westward. In such a situation, the US covered huge territory for that time and thirteen states that were created after the US had gained its independence needed to maintain effective communication. In that time, postal service was the major means of communication for people had to send letters to share information. Therefore, the postal service played the crucial part in the late 18th century. This is why the US government encouraged the creation of the US postal service shortly after gaining independence. Hence, the Pony Express was the major means of communication used in that time. In the course of the first half and middle of the 19th century, new technologies had emerged and had been implemented to enhance and improve communication technology in the US. In this regard, the introduction of the telegraph was one of the major events in the 19th century history of the US and its communication technology. By the mid-19th century, the US developed the railroad system, which allowed developing railway mail. In addition, the marine transportation allowed the US and American citizens to maintain communication with the rest of the world.
III Literature review
The study of the history of the development of communication in the US is very important and many researchers dedicated their studies to the analysis of this problem. In fact, the study of the history of the development of communication technology in the US helps to understand the evolution of the US postal service, communication technology, economy and social relations. In this regard, specialists[1] point out that communication technologies in the US progressed fast, although, at the dawn of independence, the US had under-developed communication system but the US had managed to create an effective communication system using technologies available at the moment. In this regard, Pony Express was one of the early communication technology used in the US which was considered to be fast and efficient in the late 18th – early 19th century[2].
Remarkably, the evolution of the communication technology was fast[3]. To put it more precisely, the US introduced advanced technologies and improved them. At this point, specialists[4] refer to the introduction of telegraph, which was improved in the US and the nation benefited from the introduction of the electric telegraph, which was better and more efficient compared to conventional telegraph used in European countries, for instance. The rise of telegraph was costly but highly beneficial for the communication within the US[5]. The introduction of telegraph was one of the factors that accelerated economic development of the US[6]. In fact, telegraph had become the medium that had changed the communication in the US[7]. Therefore, the development of communication in the US contributed to the revival of economic activities and effective information sharing. The introduction of innovations helped the US communication technology to progress fast and in the course of more than half a century the US communication system evolved from an underdeveloped communication system to advanced and technological communication system using telegraphs and railway mail transportation.
IV Research
A The establishment of the postal service in the US
In fact, the development of the communication technology in the US was quite difficult, taking into consideration the fact that the US had no well-developed communication system. The US was a new country that has just gained its independence, while colonists were mainly focused on the communication with the mainland Great Britain than on the communication within colonies. As early as 1775 the Continental Congress had established a postal system and appointed Benjamin Franklin its first Postmaster General. His accomplishments in this role have been widely recognized (particularly here at the Franklin Institute). But it was the 1792 Postal Act that transformed the postal service into a truly democratic institution: not only did it bar the government from reading or interfering with the communications of its citizens, but by subsidizing the dissemination of newspapers (often political in nature) it actually encouraged political debate (and even dissent)[8]. In such a way, the foundation of the postal system was the first step toward the development of the effective communication system in the US. To put it more precisely, the postal system of the US became the major means of communication nationwide. Americans could use the postal service to communicate with each other. Even though the postal system was relatively slow in terms of the delivery of messages but still, as there were no alternatives to the postal system, the US had to develop its postal service and Americans used this communication channel to share information nationwide.
In the years between 1788 and 1820 the number of post offices grew from 100 to 4,500, and by 1828 this number had increased to 7,800, making the American postal system the largest in the world[9]. Such rapid and substantial growth of post offices in the US proves the high level of popularity of postal services in the US. The postal service of the US developed fast in response to the growing demand on postal services among Americans. In such a way, the US postal service evolved fast and facilitated the communication between Americans.
At the same time, the postal service was not a mere means of communication in the US. As part of a larger “American System” of transportation and communication, it helped foster an increasingly national form of republicanism[10]. To put it more precisely, the postal service of the US contributed to the unity of the nation. The postal service allowed maintaining communication between all parts of the US that made Americans feel closer to each other, while their unity was closely intertwined with the concept of American System as a form of national republicanism. Americans felt being a part of one nation.
Furthermore, the availability of reliable, rapid, and inexpensive communications enabled the development of a national commercial and financial infrastructure, national political parties, and national identity[11]. In such a context, the role of the early postal service of the US as a driver of the formation of the nation and American political and economic system can hardly be underestimated. The postal service played an important part in the development of social, political and economic relations in the US.
B Pony Express
At the same time, the development of the postal service was closely intertwined with the emergence of the Pony Express which accelerated the delivery of messages and goods via postal services of the US. In fact, by the late 18th – early 19th century, the Pony Express was the fastest mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains and the High Sierra. The Pony Express went from Missouri to Sacramento, California. The Pony Express was the western United States’ most direct means of east-west communication before the telegraph and it was all done on horseback[12].
In fact, the Pony Express contributed to the development of the postal service of the higher quality because the delivery became much faster as the network of the Pony Express expanded nationwide and the nation could benefit from the new network of postal services[13]. Moreover, the Pony Express provided postal services of the high quality for that time because it could deliver messages relatively fast and easy. On the other hand, the Pony Express had its limitations as the use of horses naturally limited Americans in the time they had to spend on communication via mail. In addition, the Pony Express was quite expensive, especially when the delivery of messages for long distance was needed.
C Telegraph
Limitations and weaknesses of the Pony Express was relatively insignificant, until new technologies emerged. At the same time, existing limitation and inconveniences associated with the use of the Pony Expressed stimulated the research and development to improve the postal service of the US. In this regard, one of the major goals of the postal service of the US was to increase the speed of the delivery of messages nationwide. The postal service attempted to improve the communication nationwide and the Pony Express has reached its limits by the 1830s, as the well-developed network of the Pony Express operated close to maximum of its performance. Naturally, in such a situation, the postal service looked for options to improve its performance and to introduce new technologies that could improve and facilitate communication.
One solution to the problem of moving messages was telegraphy—quite literally “writing at a distance.” In the late 18th century, the French began experimenting with a “telegraph” system that could transmit information in the form of visible light using a network of giant towers, wooden indicators, and semaphore code[14]. The telegraph emerged in Europe, namely in France, in the early 19th century. This was relatively new invention, which had closed the distance between people and opened wider opportunities for communication compared to conventional mail.
In fact, telegraph had a number of advantages compared to conventional postal services, such as the Pony Express. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the speed of the network was limited only by the speed of its operators: the messages themselves moved, quite literally, at the speed of light. In practice, under the right conditions a message could travel 100 miles in under three minutes—not quite instantaneous but still a remarkable improvement[15]. Obviously, the telegraph was much more efficient than the Pony Express.
However, the introduction of the telegraph network in the US was quite costly because this was absolutely new technology that had never been applied to the US postal service before. Therefore, technical and financial concerns emerged because the Pony Expressed functioned pretty well and did not need substantial investments in its further development, while the telegraph needed considerable financial resources to start functioning nationwide. In such a way, the substantial investments in the development of the telegraph network could be a serious challenge along with technological difficulties of introducing new technology.
When in 1837 the United States Senate called for the construction of its own national telegraph system[16], this measure was essential because the economic development of the US encouraged fast social changes. As a result, the need in the improvement of the postal service was obvious because the postal service was just overloaded and could not meet growing requirements of customers. In such a situation, the development of the effective technology, such as telegraph opened new prospects for the development of the postal service nationwide at a qualitatively new level.
In 1819 the Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted, noticing that an electronic current could deflect the needle of a magnetic compass, suggested a direct relationship between electricity and magnetism. In 1825 the Englishman William Sturgeon harnessed this relationship to create the first electromagnet. By 1831 the American scientist Joseph Henry had published diagrams of a working electric signaling system that used a powerful electromagnet to ring a bell more than a mile distant. Although Henry suggested that his system could be used to construct a telegraph network, his interests were more scientific than practical, and he never turned his idea into a reality[17]. However, this idea was very important for the development of the telegraph system in the US because it was later used by Morse in the development of his system of communication.
In 1832, Samuel Morse, a Yale graduate, itinerant salesman, and aspiring portrait painter, began working on a prototype electric telegraph[18]. The electric telegraph was absolutely new for that time and the prototype developed by Morse could revolutionize the telegraph technology of that time. Morse worked with both Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail, a former New York University student and skilled mechanic, to construct a working telegraph system that they first demonstrated in 1838. Morse worked with Maine Congressman F.O.J. Smith to lobby Congress for Federal funding for his system, and in 1844 the first long-distance electric telegraph line was successfully constructed between Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. In such a way, the electric telegraph system was created.
The introduction of the electric telegraph system in the US had changed consistently the postal service of the US and communication nationwide. In fact, some researchers[19] point out that the introduction of the electric telegraph system in the US meant the revolution in the communication technology[20]. To put it more precisely, the telegraph had increased the transmission of information considerably and the Pony Express could not compete with the speed of telegraph.
Nevertheless, the appearance of telegraph did not lead to the total decline of the Pony Express. The telegraph system had its own disadvantages. For instance, sending long messages was quite inconvenient via telegraph. As a rule, the telegraph system was used for sending short messages. In this regard, the telegraph system was very useful and effective for business. In this regard, some specialists[21] estimate that the telegraph system accelerated the economic development of the US in the mid-19th century. The telegraph was particularly useful for the rise of financial market of the US. Anyway, the telegraph was a technological breakthrough compared to conventional postal service. However, the Pony Express persisted and both the telegraph system and the Pony Express co-existed efficiently, while Americans enjoyed from larger opportunities for communication.
D Railway mail service
Along with the introduction of the telegraph, other technological changes had started to influence consistently the development of the postal service in the US. In this respect, the development of the railroad system became particularly important for the development of the national postal service. In fact, the development of the railroad system in the 1830s and in the mid-19th century contributed to the consistent changes of the postal service. In fact, the appearance of railroad network that operated nationwide contributed to the emergence of the new postal service – railway mail service.
Steadily, the railway mail service replaced the Pony Express, which could not compete with the railway mail service. What is meant here is the fact that the railway mail service had a number of advantages compared to the Pony Express. First, the railway mail service was much faster compared to the Pony Express. Obviously, trains moved faster than horses. Therefore, the railway mail service shortened the time of delivery and increased the customer satisfaction. In addition, the shorter delivery time increased the effectiveness of communication because people could share information faster. Second, the railway mail service was more reliable because trains traveled regularly with insignificant delays. Third, the railway mail service could offer larger services to customers. For instance, the railway mail service had fewer limitations concerning the size and weight of parcels.
E Marine transportation
Along with land postal service, the US definitely needed other postal services, which could maintain the communication between the US and Americans and the rest of the world. In this regard, the US postal service used traditional marine transportation for the delivery of postal services. In the course of the first half of the 19th century, the marine transportation had improved due to technological innovations. As a result, the postal service improved too because the mail could be delivered faster. In such a way, the marine transportation was traditionally used by the US postal service to maintain the regular communication between Americans and the rest of the world.
V Conclusion
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the development of the postal service in the US in the late 18th – early 19th century was quite complex because the requirements of Americans to the postal service changed and the postal service had to change to meet growing demand on postal service. In such a situation, the US postal service had to introduce innovations. Briefly, it is possible to trace the evolution of the postal service from the Pony Express to the introduction of the telegraph and the emergence of railway mail service. All these changes aimed at increasing the speed and volume of postal services. The US postal service attempted to save customers’ time and provide services of the high quality, while new technologies opened larger opportunities for meeting needs of customers.
