The Telephone: Wiring America (Building America: Then and Now)

Features some of the most famous and important construction projects that have shaped the American landscape, along with triumphant stories of great feats of engineering, the innovations in technology, the coming together of a motivated workforce, and the unification of the country. Contents......Page 6 Introduction: A Worldwide Web......Page 8 1: The Dawn of Telecommunications......Page 12 2: Bell's Harmonic Telegraph......Page 18 3: A Neck-and-Neck Race......Page 26 4: A Cloud of Suspicion......Page 39 5: Selling the Telephone......Page 48 6: Building a National Network......Page 67 7: A Nationwide Competition......Page 80 8: An Age of Innovation......Page 97 9: The Industry Transformed......Page 110 Chronology and Timeline......Page 121 Glossary......Page 125 Bibliography......Page 127 Further Resources......Page 129 Picture Credits......Page 130 Index......Page 131 About the Author......Page 137 The dawn of telecommunications Alexander Graham Bell and the harmonic telegraph A neck-and-neck race A cloud of suspicion Selling the telephone and taking on a telegraph giant Building a national and unified telephone network From nationwide competition to coast-to-coast monopoly An age of innovation The telephone industry transformed. Alexander Graham Bell's request for his assistant to 'come here' revolutionized the way America's citizens communicated with one another. Bell's seemingly humble but transformative invention, the telephone remains a crucial part of daily life and is used by billions of people worldwide every day. Describes why and how the telephone was invented, how the telephone system was developed, and how the telephone has been physically improved since its invention