Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company facts for kids

The Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company (A&P) was an American company from the 1800s. It was officially allowed to start in 1854 in Maine. The company's main goal was to build a huge telegraph system. This system would connect the East Coast all the way to the West Coast of the United States.

What Was the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company?

The Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, or A&P, was a company that helped send messages across America. In the 1800s, telegraphs were like the internet of their time. They allowed people to send messages quickly over long distances using electrical signals. A&P wanted to create a network of these telegraph lines across the entire country.

Early Goals and Railroad Deals

In 1869, A&P made a deal to rent telegraph lines. These lines belonged to the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and the Central Pacific Railroad. In return for using their lines, A&P gave the railroads parts of its company, called stock.

Later, the Union Pacific Railroad tried to get its lines back. It wanted to rent them to another company called the American Union Telegraph Company. But in 1880, A&P went to court. They got a special court order, called an injunction, to stop the Union Pacific from taking their lines.

Jay Gould Takes Control

A very rich businessman named Jay Gould became interested in A&P. He slowly bought enough parts of the company to take control by 1875. He did this through several complicated deals. He even made agreements about inventions, called patents, with the famous inventor Thomas Edison.

Jay Gould was also buying parts of the Union Pacific Railroad at this time. He ended up controlling that company by 1880. Some people did not agree with Gould taking over A&P. This led to legal fights, or litigation.

Competing with Western Union

While these legal battles were happening, Jay Gould started a "rate war." This meant A&P lowered its prices a lot to compete with other telegraph companies. The biggest company in the business was Western Union. By 1878, Gould sold A&P to Western Union. He made a lot of money from the sale.