Arming the World

Arming the World is chiefly the story of military muskets and rifles made between 1800 and 1885. Beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, American inventions such as Samuel Colt's revolver, rifles made with interchangeable parts, and the mass production of muskets using machine tools were revolutionizing the manufacture of guns and making the United States the premier supplier of military arms around the world. How it came to pass that Americans, of all people, came to dominate the international arms trade is an unexpected story of Yankee ingenuity, emerging technologies, and early experiments in industrial policy.