In 1844, Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail sent the first telegraph message between Washington, D. C., and Baltimore, Maryland. In 1861, Western Union laid the first transcontinental telegraph line.
In 1866, the first permanent telegraph cable was laid across the Atlantic Ocean.

What impact did this innovation have on daily life?
It allowed people to sign legal documents from across the country.
It became a major method of long-distance communication for many years.
It increased the regional differences among various groups of people across the country.
It was the government’s only method to negotiate with foreign leaders.