When the US government briefly took control of all telephone lines
In short: In 1918, the United States entered a period of government-run telecommunications. This video explores how Postmaster General A.S. Burleson used the Great War to nationalize the nation's electric communications.
The debate over whether telegraph and telephone lines should be privately owned or government-controlled has been a subject of Congressional discussion since the 1840s. However, it was the United States' entry into the Great War that provided the specific opportunity for state control. Under Postmaster General A.S. Burleson, the government moved to nationalize electric communications, marking a brief but significant era in American telecommunications history.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: A.S. Burleson and the Nationalization of AT&T
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