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The Break
The break refers to the policies introduced by the government to guide the development of the telegraph line. The policies marked the break of the earlier laid out communications framework; they were completely different and gave a new direction and pattern in the development of communications in the U.S. It was a shift from the governance structure through which the post was used for communications to a set of policies that left the post in the hands of individuals (Lloyd 39).
In the 1830’s, Morse developed a device that was able to receive and transmit information by electrical means. He wanted to develop an experimental telegraph line and needed funds from the government. He failed to get government support and had to wait for five years until another party would take power and dominate policymaking. It is at this time that the party that took power laid out policies before they could support the development of the telegraph. The policy decisions made involving the telegraph were significant in that they were different from what was earlier set by the founders. The policies include: investing early of the technology, giving control of the technology to private interests, continuing subsidy of the technology industry and a weak response to the rise of private monopoly (Lloyd 41). These policies set a new pattern for the communications in the US. The new pattern favored the mercantile faction; made democracy weak and on the other hand, supported a lively commercial market.

The merchants were the few that could afford the telegraph. The big telegraph service companies dominated the regions; they formed a cartel to crash smaller companies. They monopolized the telegraph services throughout the US and supported businesses. The Western Union, part of the cartel, won the government contract to expand telegraph services which broadened businesses.
The change of the communications framework was indeed a significant historical moment as seen during the reign of the last Whig president, Millard, who supported the implementation of the policies. A transatlantic telegraph code was developed in 1857 as a result of the Congress vote that supported the project. The Congress passed the Pacific Telegraph Act in 1960 which advanced information to businesses subsidized by the public while the Post Office Act advanced information to public subside by businesses. The Telegraph Act gave subsidies to private businesses to build a transcontinental telegraphic line (Lloyd 51).
The Telegraph supported the expansion of the nation by facilitating communications in the wide distances. It turned out to be more reliable than the postal service. The Telegraph had a great impact on newspapers. However, its cost was unaffordable to ordinary citizen (Lloyd 53). This limited personal communications as well as the communication of citizen associations. Telegraph service commercialized news. It further created incentives for many to be responsible for newsgathering. A Postal Telegraph Bill was passed, and it allowed the postal offices to offer telegraph services. The telegraph posed limitations on the transmission, and this led to the formation of the Associated Press; it comprised a combination of newspaper groups to share in the cost of transmitting political news via the telegraph. The AP was, therefore, able to control what was being reported in newspapers and could properly co-ordinate time-sensitive and market-sensitive information. They delivered timely and concrete information by gathering all stories in the local newspapers, edited and produced a collection of national news; moreover, their writing was homogenized to suit all Americans. The Telegraph further facilitated information diffusion that expanded suffrage as well as expanding the Western Union that enabled the Jacksonian Democrats to come to power and brought in a new political force (Lloyd 57).
Work Cited
Lloyd, Mark. Prologue to a farce: Democracy and communication in America. University of Illinois Press, 2006.