The Electric Telegraph, News Coverage, and Political Participation
利用1840-1852年美国电报网络扩张的新数据，研究发现电报接入显著提高了全国选举的投票率，其机制是地方报纸增加了对华盛顿政治新闻的报道。
This paper uses newly digitized data on the growth of the telegraph network in America during 1840–1852 to study the impacts of the electric telegraph on national elections. Exploiting the expansion of the telegraph network in a difference-in-difference approach, I find that access to telegraphed news from Washington significantly increased voter turnout in national elections. Newspapers facilitated the dissemination of national news to local areas. Text analysis on historical newspapers shows that the improved access to news from Washington led local newspapers to cover more national political news, including coverage of Congress, the presidency, and sectional divisions involving slavery.