[.ca] Measuring America (ISBN 0802713963)

Why are the best books about the US written by Foreigners?:
This book was quite interesting for me, a Surveyor, to read. It explored the sociology of measurement, as well as the history of the standardation of measurements in the world, particularly the US. It had a heavy focus on land division, and how the US public lands system was formed. I have recommended it to every Surveyor that I know who is interested in history. If I recall, the author got his inspiration from flying over the mid-west and wondering why everything was squared off.

What about Philadelphia?:
It's an interesting topic. And anyone who has flown over the country's midsection can't doubt the importance of land surveys and, more important, the "grid" in shaping Americans' concept of the land. But...what about Philadelphia? Philadelphia was laid out in 1682 with a pattern of north-south/east-west streets that created equal-sized blocks that had the democratizing effect that Linklater attributes to the 1785 survey. It seems strange to me that Linklater omitted this important precedent.

Jefferson, the philosopher, does his thing:
Linklater's "Measuring America," presents the lively story of surveying from the earliest days. He makes is clear that surveying was fundamental to the British concept of land as property. At the time ownership of land was foreign in most of Europe and especially to Native Americans (and the natives of other lands settled by the British including Australia and New Zealand). The author argues that the corollary, that he who did not fence the land did not own it, led directly to displacement of the natives in lands settled by the British. Surveying was also fundamental to the sale of land and to westward expansion of the nation. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner is usually credited with the idea that westward expansion was a critical aspect. Linklater points out that land was one of the few assets the young nation possessed after the Revolutionary War. Taxes and tariffs were unpopular, so selling land was a politically favored way to pay off the war debt. In addition, land speculation was a major activity for many prominent citizens. A key player in all of this was Thomas Jefferson. His father had been a surveyor in colonial Virginia. As governor of Virginia, he agreed to cede that state's western land claims to the Federal government if other states would do likewise. In an age when measures of all sorts (length, weight, and volume) lacked standards and differed in every region, Jefferson participated in scientific discussions that proposed a system of decimalized measures. He was Minister to France when the metric system was developed, knew the principles behind it, and may have engaged in the debate that led to its development. He succeeded in proposing the dollar and decimalized money. He failed in decimalized measures for the US. He proposed that the lands of the Northwest territory should be surveyed in squares. In the legislation that followed, Congress established the procedures by which all other states were admitted. Surveying in squares was a novel concept. It created land masses that were easily identified and was preferable to the alternative metes and bounds system. Under metes and bounds plots of land were marked out based on natural boundaries like streams or ridge lines and landmarks. This system worked well for the first lands marked off, but the last lands marked often had irregular, unusual shapes. These were difficult to survey. The landmarks could be poorly identified and sometimes uncertain. That meant lawsuits over land ownership were more numerous. The system was preferred where aristocracy prevailed and aristocrats had the resources to win the lawsuits. Others were reluctant to buy or sell land because title and boundaries were uncertain. The author believes this system hindered economic development in the South. Surveying in a wilderness caused numerous problems. It was necessary to walk the boundaries of the squares through that wilderness. That required chopping trees and brush and negotiating natural barriers like swamps, mountains and waterways. It was difficult work and surveyors were well paid. In a sense, they were the first pioneers and were required to record key assets such as streams, forests, and salt licks. They are credited with identifying the best lands-sometimes for the benefit of land speculators. They are credited with finding the large iron deposits in northern Michigan, which played havoc with their magnetic compasses. The surveyors chain, known as Gunter's chain, was invented in the early 1600s. It was composed of 100 links for a total length of 66 ft. This measure is imprinted across the land in numerous measures. In addition to the squares, many towns were laid out with 99 ft boulevard widths. Lot dimensions were selected to easily accommodate Gunter's chain. It is also well suited to measuring acres. An acre was originally the land area a single man could work in a day with a team of oxen. It consists of 40 dayworks. A daywork, a space 2 rods by 2 rods (33 ft by 33 ft), is the area a man can work without animals in a day. Linklater tells the full story of surveying. The story of land development, the story of surveying errors and corrections, and the establishment of the meridian baselines are described. He tells the history of land measurement in Europe and the history of measures including the metric system. The book is well done. It's a great read. Copious references to land development and surveying are included.

How Surveyors Defined the Lives of Americans:
The new United States ran up a huge debt during the War for Independence. In the days before income taxes, the government turned to selling off federal lands to pay it down. But until lands were surveyed, they couldn't be sold. The need for funds was urgent, so surveys had to be completed quickly. The expedient solution was to use grids based on the 66-foot Gunter's Chain, ignoring natural features such as mountains and rivers. Today, the layouts of Cleveland, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Portland, Oregon--in fact most cities west of the Ohio River--owe the orientation and spacing of their street grids to an army of surveyors dragging their standardized chains behind them. The social impacts of this process are unexpected: Rampant land speculation and manipulation for one; Social isolation of Midwestern farming families for another. Along the way, we learn about the struggle to resolve confusion over measures: In 18th-Century England, bushels could be of eight different sizes, each filled in either of two ways--heaped up or struck off level. Standardization was needed, but the opportunity to decimalize was missed, leaving the United States as the only non-metric country today. The default surveyors' standard used was the chain--because of tradition, not by conscious choice. Our 640-acre sections and our quarter-acre suburban lots are all based on this 400-year-old measure. This wonderfully detailed book is about much more than measurement. It explains the novel idea that property can be bought and sold--a concept that came to Europe much later. It demonstrates how much of the vitality of the young United States came from opportunities provided to its citizens through acquiring land. Informative, interesting, very readable and highly recommended.

Americas Imaculate Grid Explained:
Wonderful account of how Euro Americans transformed untamed Native American wilderness into square parcels of real estate. You'll never look at "fly over land" the same way again. I couldn't put this book down, and recommend it to those with any interest in geography, engineering, history, politics, or real estate.