Metric Units Made Legal

A set of seven copper-soldered wooden volumetric measures from largest to smallest, 1 dekaliter (a dekaliter is 10 liters), 1/2 dekaliter (5 liters), 2 liters, 1 liter, 5 deciliters (a deciliter is 1/10 of a liter or 100 cubic centimeters), 2 deciliters, and 1 deciliter.

By the 1860s, several American reformers believed that the metric system should be used in the United States. As Assistant Postmaster under President Lincoln, Iowa lawyer and Republican activist John A. Kasson argued that use of metric units would save money on international mail. Later, as a member of the House of Representatives, Kasson advocated legislation that would make the metric system legal in the U.S. In the same era, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences recommended that the country adopt a decimal system of weights and measures, and Parliament voted to legalize metric units in Britain. In 1866, Kasson’s legislation legalizing metric weights and measures passed both houses of Congress without discussion and was signed into law. Soon the Office of Weights and Measures was preparing metric standards for distribution to the states.

National Bureau of Standards Replica Meter Standard

This aluminum bar, with an X-shaped cross-section, is a replica of the platinum international meter prototype housed in Paris and used as a standard for the metric system from 1889 to 1960. On one side, the lower left corner is marked: A.27.
Description
This aluminum bar, with an X-shaped cross-section, is a replica of the platinum international meter prototype housed in Paris and used as a standard for the metric system from 1889 to 1960. On one side, the lower left corner is marked: A.27. The upper right corner is marked: B.27. Like an actual meter standard, the bar is 102 centimeters long and there are marks 1 centimeter from each end on this side to show the precise length of a meter. Compare to 2000.0126.25.
A rectangular walnut case is lined with black felt. A brass plate on the top of the case is marked: REPLICA METER BAR (/) Presented to (/) BENJAMIN L. PAGE (/) Metrologist (/) National Bureau of Standards (/) On the occasion of his retirement (/) December 29, 1961.
Benjamin Lorenzo Page (1894–1977) began working with length standards at the National Bureau of Standards (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology) around 1920. He was presented with this replica when he retired. His widow, Helen (Bell) Page, then gave it to one of his colleagues, Rolland Ackermann (1905–1985).
References: Catalog of Artifacts on Display in the NBS Museum, edited by H. L. Mason, NBSIR 76-1125 (Washington, D.C., 1977), 17; Robert P. Crease, World in the Balance: The Historic Quest for an Absolute System of Measurement (New York: W. W. Norton, 2011), 223; Herbert Arthur Klein, The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey (reprint, New York: Dover, 1988), 185; "Benjamin Lorenzo 'Ben' Page," http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=35098794; Calibrations of the Line Standards of Length of the National Bureau of Standards, by Lewis V. Judson and Benjamin L. Page, RP743, Bureau of Standards Journal of Research 11 (July-December 1933).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1961
Maker
National Bureau of Standards
ID Number
1985.0819.01
accession number
1985.0819
catalog number
1985.0819.01

U.S. Standard Liter

After the 1866 legalization of metric units of measure in the United States, the Office of Weights and Measures prepared standard metric weights and measures for distribution to the states. This brass cylinder holds one liter. A mark on the front reads: U.S.
Description
After the 1866 legalization of metric units of measure in the United States, the Office of Weights and Measures prepared standard metric weights and measures for distribution to the states. This brass cylinder holds one liter. A mark on the front reads: U.S. (/) LITRE (/) No.46.
The U.S. National Bureau of Standards, the successor of the Office of Weights and Measures, transferred this standard to the Smithsonian.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
United States Office of Weights and Measures
ID Number
CH.309585
catalog number
309585
accession number
103830

U.S. Standard Decalitre (Ten Liters, a Metric Volumetric Measure)

After the1866 legalization of metric units of measure in the United States, the Office of Weights and Measures prepared standard metric weights and measures for distribution to the states. This brass cylinder holds ten liters or one decaliter. The stamp on the front reads: U.S.
Description
After the1866 legalization of metric units of measure in the United States, the Office of Weights and Measures prepared standard metric weights and measures for distribution to the states. This brass cylinder holds ten liters or one decaliter. The stamp on the front reads: U.S. (/)DECALITRE (/) No.35. It was transferred to the Smithsonian by the U.S. National Bureau of Standards, the successor of the Office of Weights and Measures.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1870
maker
United States Office of Weights and Measures
ID Number
CH.309584
catalog number
309584
accession number
103830

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