the traditional value of about 324 mm by slightly over 1 inch to ca. 331 mm or shortening it by about a quarter of an inch to ca. 298 mm. For practical purposes he wanted the rod to be 58¾ (new) inches long, an increase of less than 0.045%. For the mass units, the ounce as a base would equal the weight of one thousandth of a cubic foot of rain water at standard temperature. Although the rundlet is mentioned as an existing measure for liquids equivalent to a kilderkin, it was omitted from the list of redefinitions. Decimal system based on the foot Jefferson's proposed decimal system preceded the adoption in France of the decimal metric system, although both developed simultaneously. In France, the metre was to be defined as the ten-millionth part of an arc between the North Pole and the equator. Jefferson's system was based on the length of a rod oscillating seconds at 45 degrees latitude, with the foot defined as one fifth of the length of such a rod. Similar to the French system, Jefferson proposed a system of units linked directly by powers of ten. However, Jefferson's system did not make use of the concept of prefixes, which were of great importance in the French system. Instead, the names of old units were carried over into the new system for decimal multiples of the base units, giving them new values. Asserting the value of such thorough reform to the existing system of weights and measures, the report stated: The following table lists the units of the Jeffersonian decimal system, and their relationship with one another. The values of these units are based on Jefferson's proposal of a foot that was equal in length to one-fifth of a second rod, one fourth of an inch shorter than the foot in use at the time, and approximately equal to 0.298461684 m. For the mass units, the ounce as a base would equal the weight of a cubic inch of pure water at standard temperature. The transcript of the original document gives the value of a kental as 16 stones at one point and 10 stones in another point. 10 was presumably the intended value, given the otherwise consistent decimalization. Subsequent developments Under the United States Constitution, Article 1 Section 8, Congress shall have power "To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and