Surveying And Mathematics Education In Early America

Abstract

The history of mathematics education during colonial America and early republic is an underprivileged subject. This thesis focuses on one aspect of this broad topic, the interdependence of land surveying and mathematical instruction. By analyzing the mathematical content of surveying manuals and by locating relevant newspaper advertisements, I conclude that the interdependence not only benefited the American mathematics education at its beginnings, but was instrumental in starting it.