| Record ID | marc_columbia/Columbia-extract-20221130-009.mrc:236864606:3778 |
| Source | marc_columbia |
| Download Link | /show-records/marc_columbia/Columbia-extract-20221130-009.mrc:236864606:3778?format=raw |
LEADER: 03778cam a2200409 a 4500
001 4229906
005 20221027061923.0
008 020611s2002 nyua b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2002073573
020 $a0802713963
035 $a(OCoLC)ocm50143791
035 $a(NNC)4229906
035 $a4229906
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dNOR$dXY4$dOrLoB-B
043 $an-us---$an-uso--
050 00 $aE161.3$b.L46 2002
082 00 $a973$221
100 1 $aLinklater, Andro.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n77002331
245 10 $aMeasuring America :$bhow an untamed wilderness shaped the United States and fulfilled the promise of democracy /$cAndro Linklater.
260 $aNew York :$bWalker & Co.,$c2002.
300 $a310 pages :$billustrations ;$c22 cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 289-292) and index.
505 00 $g1. The$tinvention of landed property --$g2.$tPrecise confusion--$g3.$tWho owned America --$g4.$tLife, liberty, or what --$g5.$tSimple arithmetic --$g6. A$tline drawn in the wilderness --$g7. The$tFrench dimension --$g8.$tDemocratic decimals --$g9. The$tbirth of the metric system --$g10.$tDombey's luck --$g11. The$tend of Putnam --$g12. The$timmaculate grid --$g13. The$tshape of cities --$g14.$tHassler's passion --$g15. The$tdispossessed --$g16. The$tlimit of enclosure --$g17.$tFour against ten --$g18.$tMetric triumphant --$tEpilogue : the witness tree.
520 1 $a"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." "Indeed, in his first presidential address to Congress, in January 1790, George Washington put the establishment of a single system of weights and measures immediately after a national defense and a currency as the country's most urgent priority. Measuring America tells the fascinating story of how this unique system was achieved and how it has profoundly shaped our country and culture over more than two centuries." "How we ultimately gained the American Customary System - the last traditional system in the world - and how Gunter's chain indelibly imprinted its dimensions on the land, on cities, and on our culture from coast to coast, is both an exciting human and intellectual drama and one of the great untold stories in American history. Measuring America reveals the colossal power contained inside the acres and miles, ounces and pounds that we use every day without ever realizing their significance. In the process, it offers readers an opportunity to see our democracy in a brilliant new light."--BOOK JACKET.
651 0 $aUnited States$xGeography.
651 0 $aUnited States$xSurveys$xHistory.
651 0 $aUnited States$xTerritorial expansion.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140559
650 0 $aNational characteristics, American.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85089950
650 0 $aPublic lands$zUnited States$xHistory.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2010108936
650 0 $aFrontier and pioneer life$zUnited States.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2008104193
651 0 $aOhio River Valley$xGeography.
651 0 $aOhio River Valley$xSurveys$xHistory.
650 0 $aSurveying$zUnited States$xHistory.
650 0 $aSurveyors$zUnited States$xHistory.
852 00 $bglx$hE161.3$i.L46 2002