Abstract
The United States completed the first telegraph line from Atlantic to Pacific in 1861. The line revolutionized transcontinental communication, united a nation divided along its east-west axis, and became a key link in the global telegraph system. It has been forgotten because it was completed as the US Civil War broke out. This talk resurrects this important episode in American history by answering key questions about the line (who, what, when, where, and why) and exploring many ways it shaped history.
Speaker
Edmund Russell is the David M. Roderick Professor of Technology and Social Change, and Professor of History, at Carnegie Mellon University. He has won awards in the history of technology, environmental history, and history of science, as well as for teaching. He recently was a Guggenheim Fellow and the president of the American Society for Environmental History.
