What Hath God Wrought?

American Minute from William J. Federer

The world of communication was revolutionized by a man who died APRIL 2, 1872. His name was Samuel F.B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and the Morse Code.

An outstanding portrait artist in his own right, founding the National Academy of Design, Morse erected the first telegraph lines between Baltimore and the U.S. Supreme Court chamber in Washington, D.C.

The first message over this new communication system, sent in 1844, was only four words, a verse from the Bible, Numbers 23:23: "What hath God Wrought!"

Samuel F.B. Morse, who graduated from Yale in 1810, was the son of educator Jedediah Morse, known as "Father of American Geography." Jedediah Morse stated in Charleston, Massachusetts, April 25, 1799: "Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government, and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them."

Four years before his death, Samuel F.B. Morse wrote: "The nearer I approach to the end of my pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible, the grandeur and sublimity of God's remedy for fallen man are more appreciated, and the future is illumined with hope and joy."

William J. Federer is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and president of Amerisearch, Inc, which is dedicated to researching our American heritage. The American Minute radio feature looks back at events in American history on the dates they occurred, is broadcast daily across the country and read by thousand on the internet.