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After Dombey's unsuccessful journey in 1793, France also dispatched a second envoy to the United States to promote the use of the Metric system. However, by then, America had a different Secretary of State, Edmund Randolph (the second Secretary of State of the United States, serving from 1794 to 1795), and he showed little interest in changing the measurement system.
Keith Martin at the research library of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) stated that the United States had several opportunities to transition to the Metric system. Evidence from a document archived at NIST in 1866 indicates: “Congress allowed the use of the Metric measurement system in the United States and provided each state with a set of standard measurement and weight devices.” In 1875, the United States signed the Metre Convention to establish an international agency to maintain Metric standards. Even the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 declared Metric as the preferred measurement system for commercial and trading activities in the United States. This law was subsequently amended several times in 1988, 1996, and 2004 to promote more frequent use of the Metric system, but to this day… the United States still uses its own measurement system.
Why doesn't the United States use the Metric system?
This is a story related to colonialism, the industrial revolution, and individualism in America. Speaking of colonialism, it's easy to understand why Vietnam uses the Metric system because we were once colonized by the French, who introduced the Metric system. Similarly, 'Britain has had a significant influence in North America, and both Canada and the United States lean towards the Imperial measurement system' - as explained by economics associate professor at the University of Toronto - Harry Krashinsky.
Krashinsky points out that the first industrial revolution (1784 - 1840) instilled a habit of using the Imperial measurement system among the North American and American populace in particular. He states: “All factories began operating, and workers had to be trained in the Imperial measurement system, which was used to build and operate the factories.” The North American populace not only learned the British measurement system for work but also used it at home. This means that when they went to the market, they bought meat by the pound, milk by the quart, measured height in feet and inches. Even schoolchildren were taught the Imperial measurement system. When North America was functioning entirely on the Imperial measurement system, transitioning to another system was not something many were willing to embrace, especially considering the cost involved.
Similar to Krashinsky's explanation, Encyclopedia Britannica suggests that the reason the US doesn't use the Metric system is simply time and money. When the first industrial revolution erupted in the US, expensive manufacturing plants became a major source of employment and consumer goods for the American people. Because the Imperial system was already in use, the machinery used in these plants was manufactured with Imperial measurements, all workers were trained to use Imperial units, and many products were weighed and measured in Imperial units.Whenever a bill is proposed to the Congress regarding the conversion of measurement systems, large corporations and American citizens alike oppose it because they don't want to invest time and money into changing the entire existing infrastructure. Many also argue that the US should keep its current measurement system to differentiate itself from other countries and assert its leadership position rather than follow suit.Efforts to adopt the Metric system in the UK and Canada
Indeed, transitioning from Imperial to Metric measurements is time-consuming and challenging. Let's look at the example of the UK - they established the Imperial system, yet they seek to switch to the Metric system used by the French since the 19th century, but to this day, full conversion has not been achieved, and both systems coexist. The UK Parliament began considering the proposal to adopt the Metric system as early as 1818, and some industries and government agencies have begun transitioning to Metric usage. However, it wasn't until 1965 that the UK government officially enacted policies to support the transition to the Metric system. These policies aimed to meet the demands of various industries and facilitate voluntary adoption of the Metric system. In 1969, the UK government established the Metrication Board - a specialized body tasked with promoting and coordinating the switch to the Metric system. However, this conversion process was not smooth; retail stores switched from Imperial to Metric units and then back to Imperial. The government's policies also shifted from mandatory Metric usage to voluntary adoption. By 1980, the Metrication Board was dissolved, and before its dissolution, all sectors of the economy under its jurisdiction except for traffic signs and part of the retail sector had been 'metricated'.
In 2020, following its departure from the EU, the UK no longer abides by EU trade policies. Thus, last year, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was still in office, he sought to revive Britain's traditional Imperial measurement system, a move not universally supported.Canada's transition to the Metric system in action.Exploring the Imperial and US Customary systems.
I once had a misconception that the United States used the Imperial system (the British Imperial or IS system), but in reality, the U.S. uses the United States Customary system (US Customary or USC), which has many similarities and differences compared to the Imperial system. Both the Imperial and Customary systems originated from the British system, which was formed by combining the units of the Anglo-Saxons of the Germanic tribes and the Roman units brought to Britain by William I (William the Conqueror - the first Norman king of England) after the Norman conquest in 1066.The British system of measurement consists of 2 sets of units: the Winchester units established in the late 15th century by King Henry VII, used from 1495 to 1587; the second set is the Exchequer standards defined by Queen Elizabeth I, in effect from 1588 to 1825. The Imperial system was first defined by the Weights and Measures Act of 1824 in order to replace the British system of measurement. Imperial later became the official system of measurement throughout the British Empire, including the colonies, in 1826.Meanwhile, the US Customary system was developed and used after the American Revolution based on a subset of British units that had been used in America since before the Declaration of Independence in 1776. In his first message to the United States Congress in 1790, George Washington emphasized the need for 'uniformity in currency, weight, and measures.' The US Customary system aimed to address the confusion of measurement systems in America at that time, such as the Dutch system used in New York and the British system used in New England. The US Customary system was standardized and adopted from 1832 in the mainland and many territories of the country except Puerto Rico and Guam (both of which use the Metric system).
Britannica is a renowned source of information, providing insights into various topics including Imperial units [1], the metric system [2], and measurement systems such as the English and United States Customary systems of weights and measures [3].
