From the invention of the telegraph to the latest developments in social media, technological innovations have profoundly influenced the Senate and its daily operations. When Samuel Morse successfully tested his telegraph in the U.S. Capitol in 1844, an era of "instant communication" began. "This wonderful contrivance has annihilated both time and space," commented a reporter who witnessed the test.
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One hundred and fifty-one years later, with the development of Internet technology, the Senate launched its first home page on the World Wide Web, again revolutionizing the way senators interact with their constituents. "The Senate needs to move into the 21st century," commented Senator Wendell Ford in 1995, "and our presence on the Web ensures that the Senate will not be left behind as this technology explodes."
Over the past two centuries the Senate has played a part in many technological advances and witnessed many milestones, from the development of railways to space travel, from telegraphs to computers, from radio to television, and beyond.
