How the Telephone Changed History

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On March 10th, 1876, a revolutionary invention was created by Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone was invented to send vibrations from one receiver to another electrically (History.com ‘Speech Transmitted by Telephone’ accessed on March 11, 2014), and due to Alexander Graham Bell accidentally discovering that he could hear the sound of a ‘clock spring twanging’ (Marry Bellis, ‘The History of the Telephone’ accessed on March 11, 2014), that was possible. The invention of the telephone permitted new levels of communication, allowed families connect around the world, and improved military systems, but also served negative consequences, such as breached privacy. If two people wanted to have a conversation, they would have to write letters back and forth, but with the telephone they were able to pick up the receiver, dial the number, and be connected in a matter of minutes. Telephones enabled long-distance communication, which allowed families to converse despite their location. Military officials and soldiers were also able to stay in touch through field telephones as well as keep contact with the president. Although telephones were originally placed in general stores or other major city locations and homes/neighborhoods that were wired (Elon.edu ‘World Changes Due to the Telephone’ accessed on April 2, 2014), telephones became commonly used in homes in the early twentieth century when telephones began to connect internationally.
The telephone allowed two or more people to speak to each other through a receiver, rather than meeting each other or writing a letter. Instead of writing a letter and waiting days for another to come back, two people could pick up a receiver and communicate quickly and clearly. The telephone allowed peopl...

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...rvices/library/wtcoll/verizon/pages/Timeline/tel_war/tel_war_tx.php>
Matthew Carle. “Operation Ivy Bells” Military.com, Military Advantage, n.d. Web. 18 April 2014
“The Berlin Tunnel Operation Gold (U.S.) Operation Stopwatch (U.K.)” coldwar.org, The Cold War Museum, n.d. Web 19 April 2014 < http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/berlin_tunnel.asp#bt2>
“1946: First Mobile Telephone Call” Att.com, AT&T Intellectual Property, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014
“Mobile Technology Fact Sheet” Pew Research Internet Project, Pew Research Center, n.d. Web 1 May 2014
Leah Schoelles. “Project Overview” schoelles.com, n.d. Web. 23 April 2014

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