The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not use the metric system as its main system of measurement. In the early 1800's, the government's surveying and mapmaking agency or the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey used meter and kilogram standards brought from France. In 1866, Congress allowed the use of the metric system in this country and gave each state a set of standard metric measures and weights. In 1875, the US promised its commitment to the development of the internationally recognized metric system by becoming one of the original 17 signatory nations to the Treaty of the Meter. The signing of this international agreement concluded 5 years of meetings in which the metric system would be changed and remodeled,
