Communication+and+Journalism+1820-1860

​__The Population__  During the period from 1820 to 1860, reporting as a profession expanded greatly, and by the end of the period reporters were producing twice as many stories as they had been at the beginning of the period. During this period there was also a growth in literacy throughout the states, which led to increased readership.  __Technological Advances__ The beginning of enhanced communication was the **magnetic telegraph**. ·  The magnetic telegraph aided the growth of railroads as it ran along the tracks and helped regulate the scheduling and routing of trains. · The magnetic telegraph affected other areas as well; it connected distant cities, allowing them to communicate //instantly// for the first time. · The magnetic telegraph, while bringing the country together, also pushed it apart. The magnetic telegraph lines were more plentiful in the North and Northwest, further alienating the South. //{Sectionalism!}//

The History of the Magnetic Telegraph

 

· **Samuel F. B. Morse** invented the telegraph after years of failure in 1844, his first message: James K. Polk had been nominated for the presidency. ^^ More on **[|Morse]**: Morse invented the telegraph, the first means of instant communication, he devised Morse Code, he was a renowned artist, sculptor, portrait painter and early photographer. Was the son of Jedidiah Morse, a minister and geologist. · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The telegraph flourished because it was relatively cheap to construct. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By 1860 more than 50,000 miles of telegraph wires connected most of the country. By 1861 the Pacific telegraph was 3,595 connecting New York and San Francisco. These all joined to form the **Western Union Telegraph Company**. ^^More on the **Western Union Telegraph Company**: "Western Union Telegraph Company enterprise was created (1851) to provide telegraphic communications services in the United States. Originally known as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, Western Union (as it was renamed in 1856 after a series of acquisitions) built the nation's first transcontinental telegraph line in 1861. By 1943, after acquiring Postal Telegraph and some 500 other competitors, Western Union was easily the largest company in its field."

<span style="color: #ff2424; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16pt;">​ <span style="color: #ff2424; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">__The Growth of Printing and Newspapers__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">​ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msofareastlanguage: EN-US;">In 1846, Richard Hoe invented a **steam cylinder rotary press**, which made the production of newspapers quickly and for a low cost. More on the **Rotary Press** can be found here. "The first great step toward facilitating the rapid and cheap production of the modern newspaper was made by Robert Hoe of New York about 1840 when the first of the type-revolving presses were built. In the Hoe press, the type cylinder revolved on a horiztontal axis. This arrangement for feeding the sheets was simple and the capacity of the press varied according to the number of impression cylinders arranged around the type cylinder, these presses being successfully made with four, six, eight, or ten impression cylinders respectively."

<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In 1846, the **Associated Press**, an organization connecting and encouraging cooperation between newspapers to allow transfer of news between cities, was founded. This allowed for the newspapers to easily exchange stories so news could now travel more quickly in papers. ^^For more information about the the **Associated Press**, read this article. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By the united efforts of the rotary press and the magnetic telegraph, news was being collected and distributed more quickly than ever before.

<span style="color: #ff2424; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">__Newspapers and Sectionalism__ <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">- <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">The North <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;"> · <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Major Metropolitan newspapers began appearing in the Northeast’s larger cities, such as New York. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The North had more newspapers and magazines during this time, increasing the South’s sense of subjugation. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In New York there were three major newspapers, **Horace Greeley**’s //Tribune//, **James Gordon** **Bennett**’s //Herald//, and **Henry J. Raymond**’s //Times//. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The //Tribune//, //Herald//, and //Times// each reported on national and international news and had substantial circulation outside of the city.

<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt;"> -- The South <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Southern papers largely had smaller budgets than those of the North and reported usually only local news that only affected the immediate community <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Washington Barrow and the Nashville Banner, Amos Kendall and The Argus of Western America, G. W. Kendall and the New Orleans Picayune, John M. Francis and the Troy Times, and Charles Hammond and the Cincinnati Gazette were some of the newspapers and their editors from the south. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the 1850 John M. Daniel became the editor of the Richmond Examiner which after a short period of time became the leading newspaper in the south. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The combined circulation of the // Tribune // and the // Herald // exceeded that of all the daily newspapers published in the South put together. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the 1820s the question of abolition came up and was discussed. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Newspapers that were related to abolition were excluded from the mail, their circulation was prohibited and their editors were sometimes assaulted.

-- <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sectionalism <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Although journalism would eventually help unify the country, during the 1840’s and 1850’s, the press feed sectional discord. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The news revolution contributed to a growing awareness between regions and each region began examining and comparing how other sections lived. The differences they saw would ultimately seem irreconcilable.