Uncle Sammy's Weapons Industrial Complex

A brief intro to the Military Industrial Complex and weapons testing

Uncle Sam has been world famous for it’s weapons industry for more than a century now. In this short article, we will look at how the US arms industry started and how it grew to the mega industry we know today. We’ll also talk briefly about testing weapons.

Brief History

The US arms industry began after the American Revolutionary War. The government wanted to reduce their reliance on imported weapons. They then created facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia for weapons production. The civilian-government relationship began around the war of 1812 and the Mexican-American war. The government wanted to supplement production so they contracted out to private companies. This sparked the birth of current household names like Colt, Winchester, and Remington.

During the American Civil War the Industry saw it’s first big boost, they manufactured hundreds of thousands of firearms yearly. After they war the industry had a huge problem, demand for firearms dropped and fast! This forced them to look beyond their borders and export internationally, there the US global arms export empire began.