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Primary sourceDocument1858

Queen Victoria's Telegram to President Buchanan

Queen Victoria · 1858

A congratulatory telegram from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan marking the first transatlantic cable in 1858.

Buchanan received this telegram as president, reflecting the Anglo-American ties he had cultivated as a diplomat.

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A framed printed telegram under glass in a gold frame, with several horizontal text blocks of typed telegraph message and a small inset label at bottom center. Printed text reads congratulations from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan on the first Atlantic cable.
Queen Victoria, Congratulatory telegram to President Buchanan, 1858.

About this source

What it is

This is a framed printed telegram sent in 1858 by Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan, congratulating him on the completion of the first transatlantic telegraph cable. It survives as a framed document under glass.

Why it matters

The transatlantic cable was a huge technological achievement, instantly linking Britain and the United States for the first time. The exchange of messages between Queen Victoria and Buchanan symbolized the friendly diplomatic relationship between the two nations, a relationship Buchanan had worked to build earlier in his career as a diplomat in Britain.

Look closer

  • Why might a head of state send a personal message to mark a new technology?
  • What does this friendly exchange suggest about U.S.–British relations at the time?
  • How might this message have been received differently by people on each side of the Atlantic?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James Buchanan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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