Springfield Armory National Historic Site - For Teachers (U.S. National Park Service)

The US flintlock Model 1816 musket was manufactured to increasingly exact standards at Springfield Armory and at Harpers Ferry Armory.

Courtesy: Smithsonian Institution

The achievement of practical interchangeability, by which is meant the production of component parts sufficiently alike as to allow random assembly of completely functioning mechanisms, became the object of not just small arms manufacturers but, increasingly, of metal industrial producers generally. And, once interchangeability was accepted by the federal armories as policy, the achievement of that goal was most explicitly and consistently realized at the Springfield Armory.

THE INDUSTRIALIZA- TION OF THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY, 1812-1865

Lesson plans, history, and images have been combined by Springfield Armory National Historic Site and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to create a WEBsite about the development of industrial interchangeable manufacturing at Springfield Armory from 1812 to 1865.

See also . . .

Women labored alongside men at the Armory to provide American fighting men with M1 rifles.

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Besides designing and producing the bulk of the US armed forces' shoulder arms, Springfield Armory included increasing numbers of minorities and women in industrial manufacturing.

SPRINGFIELD ARMORY, 1892-1945

The Springfield Armory was a vital cog in the U.S. production machine throughout the years 1892-1945.

It was the expansion of the scope of warfare that pulled traditional labor forces (mostly white men) away from the home front to the front lines and simultaneously created enormous demand for the Armory’s products. And it was precisely this demand that forced the Armory, and industry in general, to tap into new labor forces, drawing on populations that were never previously considered anywhere near as capable as the men who were now absent.

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Supported by a grant from Parks as Classrooms: Teaching and Learning Without Walls

This section of the website was made possible through grants from the National Park Service’s, "Parks as Classroom"

and the National Rifle Association (NRA) which was awarded to the Friends of the Springfield Armory Museum Inc.

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courtesy: TAH

Springfield Armory NHS offers its staff and resources in TAH-organized teacher workshops and colloquiums.

EMERGING AMERICA: TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY (TAH)
From Agrarian Colonies to World Leader:
How American Institutions Endure through Change

Through a variety of free professional development opportunities, the three-year Emerging America program helps Massachusetts teachers gain knowledge of traditional American history and skill in historical thinking and practice.

Expert scholars help participants explore the breadth and depth of America’s growth. Area teachers, historians, and education specialists provide leadership and instruction in the latest historical scholarship and practice. Strategic use of internet, videoconferencing, and other digital technologies complement hands-on partnerships with local museums. Innovative community service-learning projects engage student-teacher teams to interpret local community history on the web and to relate to seminal national documents and events. (Stipends available to Massachusetts public school teachers who complete 52, 80 or more hours of professional development.)

Supported by a Teaching American History Grant from the U.S. Department of Education

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