"What Hath God Wrought”
The House and the Telegraph

Inventor Samuel Morse developed the telegraph system. Morse's system sent out a signal in a series of dots and dashes, each combination representing one letter of the alphabet (“Morse code”). The inventor submitted a patent for his device, which he called “The American Recording Electro-Magnetic Telegraph” in 1837. In 1838, he sought a congressional appropriation to fund its expansion by performing the first public demonstration of his machine for Congress. Despite an impressive exhibition of the new technology, Morse did not receive the funding he requested until the 27th and 28th Congresses (1841-1845).

Once Morse's system was installed in the Capitol, Congress found the telegraph an indispensable tool. At first the telegraph connected only Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD; gradually lines were extended to other large east coast cities. With the westward expansion of the country and the addition of new territories to the union, improved communication became a necessity. The telegraph revolutionized the way Congress corresponded with the nation. During the Civil War reports flashed from the battlefields assisted the federal government as it monitored and tracked troop developments. It was the first time that instant battle reports were provided to officials in Washington, D.C. Telegraph lines later linked the Capitol building to the White House and reporters to their respective newspapers.

Although the telegraph eventually fell out of favor as the primary mode of communication in the Capitol, a telegraph office still existed in the Capitol complex until 2007. Morse's invention was gradually replaced by the widespread use of the telephone.