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This inquiry provides students with an opportunity to examine the role that the telegraph played in the Civil War. The telegraph system used in the Civil War emerged over two decades in the 1830s and 1840s as inventors and businessmen worked to find a way to send electronic messages over wires. Samuel Morse cracked the code, so to speak, when he and his partners Leonard Gale and Alfred Vail transmitted their famous message “What hath God wrought?” from Washington to Baltimore on May 24, 1844
Did the telegraph make a difference in the Civil War?
Discuss ways in which communication technologies (e.g., phone, email, texting, social media) have changed how we interact with each other.
When and why was the telegraph first used in the Civil War?
Formative TasksDevelop a storyline depicting events that occurred when the telegraph was first used during the Civil War.
SourcesSource A: Bates (1907) Lincoln in the Telegraph Office - excerpt on organization <br /> Source B: Bates (1907) Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, excerpt on Bull Run
How did the United States War Department’s Telegraph Office function?
Formative TasksDraw and annotate a graphic illustrating the operation of the U.S. Military Telegraph Office.
SourcesSource A: Bates (1907) Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, excerpt on operation <br /> Source B: Bates (1907) Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, excerpt on Lincoln
How did Lincoln use the telegraph during the war?
Formative TasksMake a claim about how President Lincoln used the telegraph during the Civil War.
SourcesSource A: Telegram from Lincoln to Thomas H. Hicks, April 20, 1861 <br /> Source B: Telegram from Lincoln to Gen. D. N. Couch, June 24, 1863 <br /> Source C: Telegram from Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd Lincoln, April 28, 1864 <br /> Source D: Telegram from Lincoln to Sherman, July 18, 1864 <br /> Source E: Telegram from Lincoln to Stanton March 27, 1865 along with annotation
Argument: Write an argument responding to the compelling question, "Did the telegraph change the Civil War?" Your argument should include specific claims with supporting evidence.
Extension: Use the argument to write a speech that might have been delivered in the United States Senate arguing in favor of or against funding an expanded telegraph operation in the first year of the Civil War.
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