As I recall from when this came up a few years ago, the "cult of calculus" was because in the post-war era 'the end-users of mathematics studies [were] mostly i

As I recall from when this came up a few years ago, the "cult of calculus" was because in the post-war era 'the end-users of mathematics studies [were] mostly in the physical sciences and engineering; and they expected manipulative skill in calculus.' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Math https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Math . One way to see how curriculum has changed over the last 70 years is in Sheldon Glashow's autobiography. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1950. Quoting https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1979/glashow/biographical/ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1979/glashow/biogr... , "High-school mathematics then terminated with solid geometry."