Evolution+of+the+United+States+Weapons


 * __Dan Aschermann__**
 * __Evolution of United States Weapons__**[[image:AR%20History.jpg width="467" height="389"]]

**__Evolution of US Weapons__**


 * __Thesis:__ Through trial and error and technological advancments, America has perfected the modern weapon from its beginnings in the Revolutionary War to the Nuclear Bomb today.**

I. **Revolutionary War and Civil War**




 * **Musket**
 * Soldier expected to get a shot off every 15-30 seconds
 * According to the Continental army training manual, there were 13 steps to firing a musket. In short, a soldier had to get a cartridge, tear it open with his teeth, put a little bit of powder in the firing mechanism, put the rest of the powder and a gun ball down the barrel, ram the ball and powder home, cock the musket and fire.
 * Not accurate
 * Most common weapon during the revolutionary war.
 * Link to HOW TO FIRE A MUSKET []
 * __Cannon[[image:Tsar_Cannon_mouth.jpg width="203" height="173" caption="Cannon"]]__**
 * Each canon had a crew of about 7 to 14 men.
 * Devastating fire power
 * Long Range


 * __Bayonet__**[[image:611px-Bayonette-p1000740.jpg width="250" height="152" caption="Bayonet"]]
 * designed to fit on the end of a musket
 * effectively turned the firearms into spears
 * used for hand to hand combat
 * anywhere from a foot to two feet long
 * __Bullets__**
 * __Bullets__**

III. **WWI** **__Mustard Gas__** From the New York //Tribune//, April 25, 26, 27, 1915. The German Army dispersed chlorine gas over Allied lines at Ypres on 22 April 1915.**
 * ** Primary Document **
 * Will Irwin, correspondent
 * "The nature of the gasses carried by the German asphyxiating shells remain a mystery. Whatever gas it is, it spreads rapidly and remains close to the ground. It is believed not to be specially deadly -- one that rather over powers its victims and puts them hors de combat without killing many. Its effect at Bixschoote may have been due to panic caused by the novelty of the device. Its composition and manner of discharge are probably no mystery to the scientific artillerymen of the Allies. That such devices might be used in war has been known for a long time, but the positive prohibitions of The Hague Conference have prevented the more civilized nations of Europe from going far with experiments in this line."


 * Shows the effects of the gas on humans.




 * Rifles**

The main weapon used by British soldiers in the trenches was the bolt-action rifle. 15 rounds could be fired in a minute and a person 1,400 metres away could be killed.

Machine Gun
Machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them and had to be on a flat surface. They had the fire-power of 100 guns. Large field guns had a long range and could deliver devastating blows to the enemy but needed up to 12 men to work them. They fired shells which exploded on impact.

Zeppelin
The Zeppelin, also known as blimp, was an airship that was used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. They carried machine guns and bombs. However, they were abandoned because they were easy to shoot out of the sky.

Tank
Tanks were used for the first time in the First World War at the Battle of the Somme. They were developed to cope with the conditions on the Western Front. The first tank was called 'Little Willie' and needed a crew of 3. Its maximum speed was 3mph and it could not cross trenches. The more modern tank was not developed until just before the end of the war. It could carry 10 men, had a revolving turret and could reach 4mph.

Planes
Planes were also used for the first time. At first they were used to deliver bombs and for spying work but became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs and some times cannons. Fights between two planes in the sky became known as 'dogfights'

IV. **WWII**
==M1 Garand- Standard issue weapon for the US Army and Marines in WWII and partly in the Korean War. ==

V. Nuclear Weapons
= = = Primary Document 2 = = Harry S. Truman, Diary, July 25, 1945=


 * President Truman told his diary on July 25, 1945, that he had ordered the bomb used.**
 * Emphasis has been added to highlight Truman's apparent belief that he had ordered the bomb dropped on a "purely military" target, so that "military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children."**

We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark. Anyway we "think" we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling - to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused the complete disintegration of a steel tower 60 feet high, created a crater 6 feet deep and 1,200 feet in diameter, knocked over a steel tower 1/2 mile away and knocked men down 10,000 yards away. The explosion was visible for more than 200 miles and audible for 40 miles and more. This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10th. **I have told the Sec. of War, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children.** Even if the Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop that terrible bomb on the old capital or the new. He and I are in accord. The **target will be a purely military one** and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I'm sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler's crowd or Stalin's did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful...

Truman quoted in Robert H. Ferrell, Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman (New York: Harper and Row, 1980) pp. 55-56. Truman's writings are in the public domain.

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