<P> Immediately after independence, the thirteen United States used a variety of units of measure, including Dutch units and English units . The 1789 Constitution grants Congress the authority to determine standards of measure, though it did not immediately use this authority to impose a uniform system . </P> <P> In 1793, Thomas Jefferson requested artifacts from France that could be used to adopt the metric system in the United States, and Joseph Dombey was sent from France with a standard kilogram . Before reaching the United States, Dombey's ship was blown off course by a storm and captured by pirates, and he died in captivity on Montserrat . </P> <P> In 1832, the customary system of units was formalized . In the early 19th century, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, the government's surveying and map - making agency, used a meter standard ("Committee Meter", French: Mètre des Archives) brought from Switzerland . 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 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 . </P> <P> Under the Mendenhall Order in 1893, metric standards, developed through international cooperation under the auspices of BIPM, were adopted as the fundamental standards for length and mass in the United States . The definitions of United States customary units, such as the foot and pound, have been based on metric units since then . </P>

Describe the general movement of weather in the united states