ABSTRACT
Stratification, in its essence, is descriptive of a relationship of inequality. There are various forms of stratification within society, but two forms, social class and gender, are particularly germane to this work. The impact a given technology has on a given culture varies by relative position within the social hierarchy. Gabler (1988), in compiling a social history of telegraphy in America between 1860 and 1900, instructs us that telegraph technology facilitated the development of a new social class within society. The appearance of the new “lower middle” class is explored in this chapter. The second part of this chapter looks at the way women experienced telegraphy in terms of both their class and gender.
