Weaponry of the Past and Present

There was a lot of tension in Europe in the late 1930's due to war. The United States tried to stay peaceful with the countries because we had no motive to enter the war.  That changed on December 7th, 1941when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, giving us a huge motive to enter the war.  December 8th, 1941 FDR declared war on Japan, creating an alliance with Britain, France, and surprisingly the Soviet Union. 

Weaponry was at its peak during World War 2 due to the high technological advances.  America was able to pull themselves out of the Great Depression very quickly due to the mass production of weapons that they supplied to the allied forces.  The United States produced anything and everything from small arms to war tanks.  

One major advance in weaponry is the atomic bomb.  America dropped this nuclear weapon on Hiroshima and Nagasaki not only to end the war but also to test out the effects of this type of bomb.  After it was used, other countries were made aware of the possibilities of the weapons and they began building up their weapons.  Thus began the arms race.

The arms race was a mass production of nuclear weapons from late 1940's to mid-1950's. It included the US and USSR, as well as a few other countries.  After the Cold War ended, the tensions between American and the USSR decreased and a good amount of nuclear weapons were reduced.

In relation to today's weapons, there are many from WW2 that are still used today. For example,  the hand grenade, machine gun, German MG42 and the colt pistol were all used in WW2 and they are used in wars now. 

Some new weaponry of today includes drones and tasers.  Technological advancements are crucial in order for America to progress in the field of weaponry. Without them, we would not be first in the Military Strength Rating. By having such advancements, we are able to easily avoid war because not many countries would want to waste their time attempting to take over America.  

Overall, there has been major weaponry advancements throughout the years, the biggest being the atomic bomb.

Works cited:

https://www.quora.com/Which-weapons-from-World-War-II-are-still-in-use-today

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Reasons-for-American-Entry-Into-WWII

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/743242924325601281

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_weapons_of_the_United_States

https://www.pinterest.com/adrian5979/big-ass-guns/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/473511348303259697/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arms_race

https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/debate-over-bomb-annotated-bibliography

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/9/newsid_3580000/3580143.stm

https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp