Book

Measuring America

Name: Measuring America
ISBN: 9780452284593

How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise Ofdemocracy

Andro Linklater

Penguin Publishing Group · 2003-09-30

Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise Ofdemocracy

History civil

Buy on Amazon

See Lists Featuring This Book

Disclosure: Some outbound links are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission. It doesn't affect which books we include. Learn more in our disclosure policy.

Who It's For

Good for readers who enjoy History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775)
Good for readers interested in gifts
Good for fans of History

What You Get

Themes: History, Civil.
Reading lane: United States.
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group.

About This Book

Read full description

In 1790, America was in enormous debt, having depleted what little money and supplies the country had during its victorious fight for independence. Before the nation's greatest asset, the land west of the Ohio River, could be sold it had to be measured out and mapped. And before that could be done, a uniform set of measurements had to be chosen for the new republic out of the morass of roughly 100,000 different units that were in use in daily life. Measuring America tells the fascinating story of how we ultimately gained the American Customary System—the last traditional system in the world—and how one man's surveying chain indelibly imprinted its dimensions on the land, on cities, and on our culture from coast to coast.