Thomas Jefferson and his Decimals 1775–1810: Neglected Years in the History of U.S. School Mathematics

• Main Authors: Clements, M.A. (Ken) (Author), Ellerton, Nerida F. (Author)
• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2015.
• Subjects: Education.; Measure theory.; Mathematics > Study and teaching.; Mathematics Education.; Measure and Integration.

This well-illustrated book, by two established historians of school mathematics, documents Thomas Jefferson’s quest, after 1775, to introduce a form of decimal currency to the fledgling United States of America. The book describes a remarkable study showing how the United States’ decision to adopt a...

Table of Contents:

• Early Moves Toward Metrication in Europe
• Measurement Chaos in North America, 1780–1980
• Opportunity Lost: Big Money Successfully Thwarts Thomas Jefferson’s Push for Metrication 1776–1793
• Muddling Along: Opposition to Moves for Metrication, 1793–1920
• David Eugene Smith’s Involvement in the Metrication Issue, 1920–1935
• The Decision for Metrication, 1970
• Reaganomics, Big Money, and the Crushing of the Metric Dream, 1970-1980
• Why has the United States Never Achieved Metrication?.