What Were the Effects of the Rifle?

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The rifle was an extremely effective advancement in military history. The rifle has been used for centuries because of its effectiveness, shooting bullets straight and accurate because of the aerodynamics and physics of the spiral motion with the bullet. What makes the rifle a rifle and much better than a musket, is the fact that it has rifling throughout the barrel of the gun. Rifling is a system of spiral grooves in the surface of the bore of a gun causing a projectile when fired to rotate about its longer axis (Merriam-Webster). The rifle changed America by starting long range warfare, enforcing a new industry of American weaponry, and leading to the sniper rifle which now has many important uses such as protecting the white house. Foot soldiers have used many different weapons in history dating back to the beginning of time from clubs and spears to bow and arrows and muskets. Weapon evolution has always focused on a way to be able to kill your enemy from a farther distance than they are able to kill you. An example of this gun evolution is the club which is short but powerful to the spear which is long and able to be thrown to the bow and arrow and crossbow which can fire from a far distance with accuracy. Another evolution that shows closer range weaponry evolving into further range weaponry is the harquebus to the musket to the rifle. This evolution was embraced by the U.S. in the American Revolution and more abundantly in the Civil War. Early America was filled with wars and battles where weaponry was very important such as the American Revolution and the Civil War. The American soldiers that fought in the Revolutionary War showed us that you can win a war solely on passion and heart but the soldiers in other American wars... ... middle of paper ... ...ca. 1943. 1943. Franklin D. Roosevelt Lib. Public Domain Photographs, 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY. Archival Research Catalog. Web. 22 Feb. 2010. . Valdes, Robert. “How Military Snipers Work.” HowStuffWorks. Discovery, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. . Wall, Bennett H, and Richard Adler. “President Kennedy Is Assassinated.” Great Events from History: The Twentieth Century, 1941-1970. N.p.: Salem, 2010. N. pag. Salem History. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. .

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