The Adoption of the Telegraph Through the Lens of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory

    The Diffusion of Innovations theory applies heavily to the telegraph as it is a prime example for why new inventions and ideas get adopted as quickly as they do. The Diffusion of Innovations theory applies to any new concept that's either successful or unsuccessful. The theory is what explains why something catches on so quickly, or why it dies out before it even has a chance. 

  In regards to the telegraph, this theory explains why the telegraph was almost instantly embraced by our society. Rogers defines this theory and its two main components of diffusion and innovations. The diffusion refers to "the process by which an innovation is communicated over time among the participants in a social system." The innovation is the concept or invention that is being introduced to a society. 

    Pretty much everyone who could afford it was an early adopter of the telegraph. I suppose this would be the one setback from this new invention, as I'm sure it was rather expensive to install when it was first invented. Besides this, there were really no downsides to having a telegraph system. Even though it took some time to put up telegraph poles, the usage that society would get from installing these new communication systems was too valuable to wait on. Poles were installed almost immediately and within a quarter century, there was a telegraph line installed that connected Europe to America. 

    The telegraph was really the first communication system that could send messages almost instantly. Before the telegraph, messages would have to be delivered by humans, but now with the use of electricity, one could send messages over great distances so quickly that one could even have a live conversation with another person thousands of miles away (assuming both parties were well versed in knowing how to operate a telegraph and how to decipher morse code.) I'd even argue that it was the first form of texting. There was no other invention before this (and maybe since) that so severely changed the way humans communicated. 

    Having instant communication like that was a commodity that was so valuable to our society because it made our lives easier in every way. With this type of communication, almost all tasks could be completely more quickly and efficiently, and could even be coordinated by multiple parties from two completely different locations. The telegraph made it so that distance wasn't an obstacle in human communication. Because it was such a milestone of an invention, it's no surprise that it was so quickly adopted by society, and the diffusion of innovations theory backs that up. Everyone became an early adopter because it made everything easier. It was almost a necessity to possess an instrument as powerful as this. 

    When looking back at it, it's crazy to think that such an advanced system like this became as popular as it was in such a short amount of time. The fact that it took less than 25 years to connect Europe to America telegraphically is something that I think most people can't even wrap their head around. But thanks to the diffusion of innovations theory, it actually makes perfect sense. The demand and desire for the product was so high, that we were able to accomplish a feat as great as this in such a short span of time. Within just a few decades, telegraph lines were layed out all over the world. Cities everywhere were connected with each other. 

    The telegraph really took our species to another level. After its invention, our society saw exponential change and improvement in almost all aspects. This lead to so many new ideas and inventions being created, that within 100 years, our society looked completely different with the expansion of big cities and the incalculable amount of new inventions that spawned soon after the telegraph. I just hope that the next time we do discover something as impactful and powerful as the telegraph, we as a people will be just as quickly to embrace it. Though because of the diffusion of innovations theory, I don't think we're gonna have a problem with that. 

The Importance of the Invention of the Telegraph

    The telegraph is in my opinion one of the most underrated and underappreciated inventions in human history. Not only did it advance our understanding of telecommunications and expand the possibilities of how we can harness the power of electricity, but it brought the world together in a way that was never before possible.

    Samuel Morse invented the telegraph in 1844, but he held onto the idea for far longer. He originally came up with the idea for the telegraph in 1832, when he heard about Michael Faraday's new electromagnet, and wondered if he could harness its power for the use of telecommunications. He had an idea for how he wanted to create his new invention, but he would need some help from a few folks before being able to properly execute it.

    He enlisted the help of one of his colleagues at the City University of New York, Leonard Gale, to help him really understand the inner workings of how batteries and magnets work. Gale directed him to a Princeton professor named Joseph Henry, who had studied the subject very closely, and actually had created his own idea for a telegraph. With the help of Alfred Vail, a technician hired by Morse to help construct the machine, Morse finished his invention and sent the first successful message on May 24, 1844. The message was sent from Washington D.C. all the way up to Baltimore. 

    The telegraph changed everything and was quickly adopted by our society. This map of the United States in 1953 shows just how fast it took for the telegraph to become a popular and widely used instrument. Over 27,000 miles of telegraph lines...in just 9 years! It definitely had an immediate impact on society and changed the way people lived and communicated. Now, if you wanted to contact a loved one thousands of miles away, you didn't have to send out a letter in hopes of it getting to its destination within a few weeks (only to wait just as long to receive one back.) No, now messages could be sent almost instantly and over thousands of miles. It even connected the United States and the U.K. in less than 25 years after its invention. Information that used to take months would now take a mere minutes to reach its destination. 

    This helped businesses and services of all types. The military could now be much more efficient, companies could more quickly and easily correspond with other locations over long distances, and newspapers could now get their stories printed out the very next day in order to inform the public of any notable news happening. We could now be much more efficient as a species, and could coordinate more quickly and easily to get bigger tasks done while saving a lot of time and energy, and it's all thanks to this almost magical invention of the telegraph. The world was now fully connected as a species, and though there have been new inventions that have outlived the telegraph, it was the first one that really unified us as a people, and was the first step into taking us into the age of communication that we're currently living in today.

The Destruction of Personal Privacy In the New Age of Technology

     We are living in a time of uncharted territory when it comes to digital media and communication. No one really thinks about it, but we're playing with fire when we use the internet. This is because we aren't aware of its limitations, if it even has any. Because of this, we're in a transition period of moving into a digital age, and this can be scary, but it's something we have to navigate wisely. For it is the regulations and standards that we set today concerning the use of technology that will guide the trajectory of how we use these new tools. 

    This is a problem that affects everyone. As seen in this Ted Talk video, one doesn't even have to be using the technology themselves, often times, there's other people's technology that's already watching you. Not only are they watching you, but they're recording every single piece of data they can and storing it for themselves. There's no running from it, not at this point. If you walked down the road on a busy street, there is a high chance that there is some piece of technology that is being used to track or record you in some way. There's really no escape, and that might be the scariest part.

    Probably the craziest thing about this whole situation is that this a truth that is at this point just accepted. We all know it's going on, but we continue with our daily lives anyway. We still use our phones, we still have no problem giving random companies our information so we can "sign up" for their website. It's something we give in to everyday.

    In reality, this doesn't really affect our lives that much today. A normal citizen will not notice their invasion of privacy, but it's what the future holds that's so frightening. In a few decades, when technology has advanced, and the data gathered has grown exponentially, that's when we're in trouble. It could very easily get to a point where the government can use that data to control and manipulate the lives of everyday citizens. 

    It's not just the government that's a problem when it comes to this issue. There are plenty of private entities that are actively trying to steal that information everyday for their own personal use, often for monetary gain. The worst part is that it is very hard for people to know when their information and privacy has been breached. Rarely do companies inform the individual that their information was stolen, most likely, the individual will find out after the thief has already taken what he's sought after. This is especially dangerous to the older generation that didn't always have this technology as a part of their lives.

    The sad thing is that this affects everyone. It affects me, it affects you, it effects everyone you know, and we're all in the same boat. Unfortunately, we're mostly powerless in this fight for privacy. Luckily though, the government does have the authority and the ability to at least tame this problem that we have of invasion of privacy. They have the ability to direct our society in a way that can prevent many of these new technologies from being used as a weapon. 

    There are two problems that we face in this current situation though. The first, is that we are running out of time. Like I mentioned earlier, it is this transition period that we are living in right now that is going to determine how this all plays out. If we can take control of this situation early, then maybe we can prevent it from fully taking away our privacy. There will come a point though where it is too late, and these new technologies will become uncontrollable. Governments around the world need to take action now to create change, but this is where the other problem arises. It's not in the best interest of the government to slow these technologies down. Yes, it is in their interest to prevent other countries from hacking and disrupting our governmental system, but the ability to control the people the way that they have the potential to may be too great of a power for them to pass up. If they decide they want to, the government will utilize these new technologies to control their people, it would naive to think that they aren't at least thinking about the potential control that they can gain from these new tools. So unfortunately for us, we just have to hope and pray that the government puts the interests of the people over the interests of themselves.

The Impact of 9/11 on the Freedom of Speech in America

    Though the Constitution has been around since the late 1700s, probably the most important part of it was not truly embraced until the 1900s. It was then that the spread of information became more popular and widespread, thus giving more power to the first amendment of the Constitution. This created an environment in which the eight values of free expression could be practiced better and more frequently than they could before. The invention of things like the newspaper and radio made the spread of information grow exponentially. This helped support the integration of the eight values of free expression into American society, as more outlets for information allowed people to voice their opinions more easily, while reaching a much wider audience.  

    Things were progressing well in American culture. Televisions started becoming a staple in American households, and eventually phone lines became standard as well. With all of these new tools, people could spread ideas and discover new information far quicker and easier than ever before. This was all helping to get us closer to a country that was truly one of free speech and free flowing information. There was not only a greater spread of information, but also a wider range of perspectives being presented about different ideas. People could now have different opinions on the same topic, and this specifically supports the values of promoting tolerance and dissent. These new inventions and the greater spread of ideas made it easier for the people to keep their government in check as well. With media outlets giving constant updates to political campaigns and the current state of politics, people could make sure that the government was doing the right thing and keeping the best interests of the people as their priority. This helps to support the value of participation in self-government, and the value of being able to check on governmental power.

    We were doing well as a nation, that was, until 9/11 came around. It's been 20 years since that devastating day. I don't remember the day myself, I was just two years old. I guess I should consider myself lucky for not having to go through the pain of watching that terrible day unfold. Though 9/11 had much more significance than just the event itself, as the destruction of the twin towers ended up changing American society forever. Since then, we as a nation have actually been getting farther away from upholding the eight values of free expression.

    That day really instilled fear in the hearts of every American. We learned on that day that while we may be free, that does not mean that we are safe. At any point in time, another terror attack could be coming for us, and it's this realization of our reality that has led to the decline in our reverence of freedom. Since 2001, everything from the TSA to the FCC has cracked down on the freedoms of Americans. Most of these restrictions have been small, like having to take your shoes off when going through airport security, but these things add up. It's gotten to the point now where people have to walk through a metal detector at almost any decently sized gathering in the country. While many of these changes have led us to be a relatively safer society, they have come at the cost of freedom. Yes, the NSA may be able to help stop some potential terror attacks, but does that justify their ability to be able to tap into the personal online information of every American? Because of this, people online now have to watch what they say, in fear that the government might be watching over their every move. Sure, one can still say whatever they want whenever they want, but now there is a much greater fear of consequence for what people can say. This is something that is absolutely counter-intuitive to integrating the eight values of free expression into our society. 

    Many of these new changes are small, but they are restrictions none the less. The worst part? They keep piling up. More restrictions are being implemented, not retracted. The scary part is not what has happened, it's what's going to happen. If we keep piling up these restrictions and keep limiting people more and more, we're taking away their personal freedoms, many of which have to do with limiting the ability of people to express themselves. The question is, when does this all stop? Where is the limit to how much freedom can be taken away from the people? Right now, there is no answer to that question. I do hope there is one soon though, because this hole that we're digging is getting deeper and deeper and making it harder for us to integrate the eight values of free expression into our society.

The Supreme Court and Its Origins

    

    The Supreme Court has had a long history with many changes made to the judicial branch throughout the years. With the massive power they hold, which has only increased since the constitution was established, they have influenced the course of American history in countless different ways. 

    On History.com, there's an article I read that gave a pretty informative overview of the history and progression of the Supreme Court. One of the most surprising things I found in this article was the change in the number of justices present on the court. It started out with 6, but at one point went down to 5. It then got as high as 10 justices before staying at 9 justices, the number it has stayed at since 1869. One other interesting fact that I found in the article was that former president William Howard Taft was actually a justice himself, and eventually a chief justice as well.

    Probably the most important takeaway I got from the article was the sheer power the court possesses. Between all of the cases they have made decisions on, it has really shaped how American society has progressed throughout the years. Things like same sex marriage, abortion laws, and even earlier decisions in America's history including rights concerning personal freedom, were all made possible by the Supreme Court.

    I think after reading this article, I've really come to realize just how crucial the Judicial system is to the integrity of the American government. Without them, Nixon might've gotten away with even more crimes than he ended up committing. Other presidents and congress could've easily abused their power in multiple instances if it weren't for the Supreme Court. Honestly, the Supreme Court might be the most powerful branch of government in the U.S..