Starts and Stalls: Creating a Successful Transatlantic Cable

The SS Great Eastern is shown under construction in this print. It was the largest passenger ship ever built at the time of its launch in 1858. In 1866, the Great Eastern was converted to lay the second — and first successful — transatlantic cable. During its career, this ship laid multiple submarine communication cables totaling over 32,000 miles.

The SS Great Eastern is shown under construction in this print. It was the largest passenger ship ever built at the time of its launch in 1858. In 1866, the Great Eastern was converted to lay the second — and first successful — transatlantic cable. During its career, this ship laid multiple submarine communication cables totaling over 32,000 miles.

Telegraphs could be sent wherever wires could be hung in the 1850s, but hardwiring signals between transoceanic continents required a feat of engineering. In 1858, a team laid underwater cable across the Atlantic and sent a successful telegram. Though the cable soon failed, pieces were sold as souvenirs in Charles Tiffany's renowned jewelry store as symbols of speed and progress.

Telegraphs could be sent wherever wires could be hung in the 1850s, but hardwiring signals between transoceanic continents required a feat of engineering. In 1858, a team laid underwater cable across the Atlantic and sent a successful telegram. Though the cable soon failed, pieces were sold as souvenirs in Charles Tiffany's renowned jewelry store as symbols of speed and progress.

This sheet music celebrates the first transatlantic cable. The ships depicted are the USS Niagara and HMS Agamemnon. These vessels met in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, spliced their cable payloads together, and set off to separate shores in Ireland and Canada. The man at center is likely Cyrus W. Field, financier of the first and second transatlantic cables.

A galvanometer is an instrument that detects and measures electric current. On August 16, 1858, this device was used by President James Buchanan to receive the first public message sent across the transatlantic cable. The message was sent by Queen Victoria to celebrate "a link between nations." It was 98 words long--and took 16.5 hours to transmit.

This periodical shows a fire at New York City Hall on August 18, 1858. To celebrate the successful transmission of messages over the transatlantic cable September 1 was declared as an "International Cable Jubilee" day. New York City began its commemorations early, setting off a display of fireworks. Sparks ignited the dome of City Hall, destroying part of the building.

Democrats chose James Buchanan to head their presidential ticket in 1856. The long-serving politician seemed perfect to calm the sectional strife that gripped the nation. Buchanan hailed from non-slaveholding Pennsylvania but supported the rights of states and territories to decide whether slavery should exist within their own borders. He was elected, but divisions worsened. By the end of his presidency the country was splitting in two.

Laying telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in the 1860s was a huge undertaking. This massive cable stranding machine was used in Greenwich, England, to wind together the different elements of the cable: iron for strength, copper for conductivity, gutta-percha rubber for insulation, and tarred hemp for durability. Following several failed attempts, the heavy, flexible cable was laid successfully by the SS Great Eastern in 1866.

In the last third of the nineteenth century, an unprecedented variety of consumer goods and services flooded the American market. Advertisers, armed with new methods of color printing, bombarded potential customers with trade cards. Americans enjoyed and often saved the vibrant little advertisements found in product packages or distributed by local merchants. Many survive as historical records of commercialism in the United States.