you there! You have enraged the wrath of my piggy war like ancestors!
The UK Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which not only modified the types and sizes of units, but renamed them from the English units of measurement to the Imperial System of Measurement.
This new standard was then introduced throughout the UK and its colonies at this time.
However, the USA had become independent prior to this and consequently had not adopted the Imperial system of measurement.
Instead, they had developed their own measurement standards, based on the English units system which was used throughout the States prior to independence.