when did the us try to convert to metric
Metrication in the United States Although the Constitution grants Congress the authority to determine standards of measure, it was not until 1832 that the customary system of units was formalized.[6] In the early 19th century, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, the government's surveying and map-making agency, used meter and kilogram standards brought from France. Shortly after the American Civil War, the 39th United States Congress protected the use of the metric system in commerce with the Metric Act of 1866[7] and supplied each state with a set of standard metric weights and measures. In 1875 the United States solidified its commitment to the development of the internationally recognized metric system by becoming one of the original seventeen signatory nations to the Metre Convention, also known as the Treaty of the Metre. The signing of this international agreement concluded five years of meetings in which the metric system was reformulated, refining the accuracy of its standards. The Metre Convention established the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (Bureau international des poids et mesures, BIPM) in Sèvres, France, to provide standards of measurement for worldwide use.