Measuring
America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and
Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy
by Andro Linklater
In the late-18th
century, the most urgent problem
facing the newly independent United States was how to pay for the war
that won the country its freedom; America's debt was enormous. The
nation's greatest asset was the land west of the Ohio River, but in
order to sell this huge territory, it first had to be surveyed - that
is, 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. At the story's center is Thomas Jefferson, who established the
democratic principles by which the land survey would be conducted. The
shapes that the frontier assumed came from the depths of his intellect
and have been deeply ingrained ever since in our national character.
Sagely argued and beautifully written, Measuring America captures the
essential nature of measurement just as the founding fathers understood
it, and by doing so offers readers an opportunity to see our democracy
in a brilliant new light.
http://www.measuringamerica.com
ISBN: 0-8027-1396-3
March 4, 2003