The Moral Effect of the Atlantic Cable
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THE MORAL EFFECT OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE.
When Beranger,1 the French Poet of Freedom, wrote that great lyric of his, calling upon the nations to “join hands” in amity, and with prophetic vision told them of the day when international quarrels should cease and the lion should lie down with the lamb, he must have had some dim foresight, which for aught we know, is vouchsafed to the “bards sublime,” of the grand triumph of man’s ingenuity and skill which has just set our people wild with joy and excitement.
It is well to pause and enquire into the reasons of this mighty outburst of enthusiasm all over the land. On no former occasion within our recollection has there been anything like it. Time and again there have been great celebrations, on occasions of national interest, but nothing like this before. Never before has there been such a universal jubilee—never before have the people of these States united so unanimously and so ardently in glorifying a grand scientific achievement.
We think that after all, it is not the mere utilitarian gain to come out of the new enterprise that has produced the effect in question. Probably to an immense majority, the Telegraph Cable2 will not bring one iota of personal benefit, and it can be neither the scientific nor the utilitarian relations of this grand experiment that can account for the exultation with which it has been greeted and the unbounded enthusiasm with which it has everywhere been received. Most probably the moral element in this matter has more to do with the feelings of joy and gratulation that prevail everywhere, than any merely material considerations. It is the sentiment of union that makes the popular heart beat and quiver. It is the union of the great Anglo-Saxon race, henceforth forever to be a unit, that makes the States throb with tumultuous emotion and thrills every breast with admiration and triumph.
The popular instinct, now-a-days, says that England and the United States are no longer to keep each other at arms-length. The two countries—or at least, the two peoples—both courageous, enterprising, and ardent, feel that henceforth their old prejudices and rivalries must be set aside. They feel that henceforth it is not in the power of time-serving, capital-making politicians to create bitterness between them. They feel that England and America alone stand faithful and true to the great cause of freedom. They both feel that this Telegraph Cable is not alone a material bond for the transmission of news of the rise and fall of stocks, and of news-gossip generally, but that it will subserve a higher purpose—that it will link together nations that in heart and feeling are hereafter to be one.
Notes:
1. Pierre-Jean de Beranger (1780–1857) was a well-known French poet, celebrated songwriter, and outspoken defender of free speech.. [back]
2. The Transatlantic Telegraph was the first cable connection between the United States and Europe, built by Cyrus West Field and the Atlantic Telegraph Company. It sent its initial message—a note from the British Queen—in 1858 and, although the cable spanning from Canada's Trinity Bay to Ireland was only in operation for three weeks, had a major impact on transatlantic relations of the antebellum period. [back]