# The First American Math Textbook

In 1729, the first American mathematics textbook, “Arithmetic Vulgar and Decimal,” was published anonymously in Boston. The story of its author, Isaac Greenwood, and his little book, with its shortcuts and blank space for calculations, is one of home-grown American industry, innovation, and tragedy.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2025
- Runtime: 4 min
- By: Pantozzi, Ralph
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/video-10810/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/video-10810?play=1)