"The Telegraph Plateau" Harper's Weekly, August 1858

"The Telegraph Plateau" Harper's Weekly, August 1858

The Advance of Global Communication in the 1850s

“The Telegraph Plateau” by an unnamed Harper’s Weekly staff member presented a detailed description of the laying of the transatlantic telegraph cable. James, John, Joseph, and Fletcher Harper were apprenticed at an early age to New York printers and were responsible for their assigned departments. However, Joseph Wesley as chief editor and critic, possibly assigned this story. It focused on the procedure with images of the cable, Brooke’s Deep Sea Sounding Instrument, ships laying the cable in the Atlantic Plateau, the ship, Agamemnon’s, dramatic effort to lay the cable during a storm, and New York’s fireworks celebration of the momentous event. The article had New York, national, and international appeal because of the implications for the expansion of global communication during the 1850s. It also reflected the outwardly-looking nature of some New Yorkers, like the Slopers in Washington Square, who found it normal to travel abroad.
The article combined a layman’s explanation of the information through specific and plain diction and more scientific and technical information about the process for the more scientific-minded audience. According to the author, “in the ocean depths there is an absolute absence of current or motion of any kind—so the wire . . . is in no danger of its destruction by abrasion or chafe against the bottom surface” (“Telegraph” 548). Lieutenant Berryman of the U.S. steamer, Artic, obtained soundings, confirming that the soft mud bed contained “myriads upon myriads of minute shells, each separate and entire” (“Telegraph” 548), proving the lack of any destructive current. This plain diction in layman’s terminology was directed at the general audience. A highly technical and scientific description of how Brooke’s Deep Sea Instrument worked was presented, using technical, precise, and specific diction to explain the sounding procedure which would appeal to mainly a scientific-minded audience. For example, “the staff armed . . . where there is a small cavity . . . with soap or tallow, to which armature a sample of the bottom clings” (“Telegraph” 548). In an appeal to the wider general audience, vibrant imagery with dramatic and exciting diction concluded the article with the ship, Agamemnon, battling “a terrible storm” (“Telegraph” 549) while laying a cable. As the wind “continued to blow hard, with frequent violent squalls, the sea running tremendously high . . . no one expected the cable to hold” (“Telegraph” 549-550), but the weather improved and the cable was successfully laid.

Harper's Weekly, Unknown Author

“The Telegraph Plateau.” Harper’s Weekly: Journal of Civilization 28 Aug. 1858: 548-550. Print.

Harper's Weekly

August 28, 1858

Gary Guy