The first telegraph line read like scripture. It was.
On 24 May 1844, Samuel Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought" from Washington to Baltimore over a line of roughly 60 kilometres. Before that, information travelled as fast as a horse. Now it arrived in seconds. Within ten years, more than 30,000 kilometres of wire crossed the United States.
Useful: When information outruns transport, trade, press and politics change at the same time.
Source: en.wikipedia.org