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About this book
Why is there no metric system in the United States? Why is it that a country known for its openness to the future, its scientific innovations, and its preference for practicality has not adopted the most practical, scientific, and innovative system of measurement? Yardstick Nation answers these questions by analyzing the political, economic, and international factors that determined the trajectory of the United States as a nation self-excluded from one of the most successful global technical languages.
Using a historical-comparative approach and qualitative analysis of archival material, the book examines the trajectories of American scientists, engineers, politicians, and industrialists from 1787 to 1982, to detail what they wanted to attain and to explain what was actually possible to achieve given the political and economic conditions in which they lived. Yardstick Nation argues that in order to understand the unbreached distance between the United States and the metric system, we must consider the interaction between three structural elements: historical timing, state infrastructural power, and international economic integration.
Author Hector Vera's systematic look at when and why countries have adopted the metric system shows that its introduction is never casual. In the countries that voluntarily embraced the metric system, this was the result of either deep internal political transformations or momentous changes in the international economy. When the adoption of the metric system is politically driven, it comes as the result of a social revolution, independence war, national unification, or the draft of a new constitution. When it is propelled by economic factors, metrication is part of the efforts of economically stagnant countries to integrate into international markets.
Using a historical-comparative approach and qualitative analysis of archival material, the book examines the trajectories of American scientists, engineers, politicians, and industrialists from 1787 to 1982, to detail what they wanted to attain and to explain what was actually possible to achieve given the political and economic conditions in which they lived. Yardstick Nation argues that in order to understand the unbreached distance between the United States and the metric system, we must consider the interaction between three structural elements: historical timing, state infrastructural power, and international economic integration.
Author Hector Vera's systematic look at when and why countries have adopted the metric system shows that its introduction is never casual. In the countries that voluntarily embraced the metric system, this was the result of either deep internal political transformations or momentous changes in the international economy. When the adoption of the metric system is politically driven, it comes as the result of a social revolution, independence war, national unification, or the draft of a new constitution. When it is propelled by economic factors, metrication is part of the efforts of economically stagnant countries to integrate into international markets.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Yardstick Nation by Hector Vera in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & North American History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Publisher
Vanderbilt University PressYear
2025Print ISBN
9780826507839, 9780826507846eBook ISBN
9780826507853Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction. A World Too Small for Two Systems: Or, A Luxury Only the Rich Can Afford
- 1. An Irresistible Force Meets an Immovable Object: The Global Expansion of the Metric System and the United States
- 2. Leviathan’s Foot: State Capacity and the Establishment of Measurement Systems in America
- 3. A Troubled Lingua Franca: Scientists, Engineers, and Educators in the Battle of the Standards
- 4. Searching for a Perfect Language for Commerce: Measurement and Economy
- Conclusion. Why Is There No Metric System in the United States?: Five Reasons
- Appendix. Adoption of the Decimal Metric System of Weights and Measures by Country
- Chronology of the Metric System in the United States
- Notes
- Archives
- Bibliography
- Index