Mathematical Treasure: United States' Arithmetician

This is the title page of John Rose’s The United States’ Arithmetician, the fifth edition appearing in 1832.

Pages 54 and 55, above, contain examples of measure conversion situations in early America. Note the necessity for problems on monetary exchange. Remember that, for a period of time, each of the new states had its own monetary system. Several measures, such as that for cloth, are no longer issues of popular need.

On Pages 132 and 133, above, examples requiring root extraction are considered.

The images above are presented courtesy of the State Library of Pennsylvania, in Harrisburg, PA. Dr. Iren Snavely, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, was particularly helpful in securing these images.

More early American arithmetic texts in Convergence:

• Dilworth's Schoolmaster's Assistant (1773)
• Nicolas Pike's Arithmetic (1788)
• American Tutor’s Assistant, or Practical Arithmetic (1794)
• Mercantile Arithmetic for the U.S. (1801)
• New Athenian Oracle, or Ladies' Companion (1806)
• Hutton's Course of Mathematics (1812/1818)

Index to Mathematical Treasures