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The History of New Jersey encompasses the entire history of the state of New Jersey, from its geological beginnings to when it was inhabited by Native Indians, to the present day .New Jersey was the third state to join the union in December 18, 1787 . Its history dates long before the time when the Thirteen Colonies were first settled by the Europeans, starting from its ancient geological history. The capital of New Jersey is Trenton.

Around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains. During this time period, Pangaea broke apart into Laurasia and Gondwana, and New Jersey and the rest of the North American continent became separated from the North African continent. Around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as many rivers, swamps, and gorges.

At first, New Jersey was settled by Native Americans, but soon became under the control of the Dutch and then the British. It became part of the independent United States of American after the American Revolutionary War, in which New Jersey played a major role. During the 20th Century, New Jersey rose and fell during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. New Jersey also became an important part of the defense of the United States during the Cold War.

Early History

New Jersey was at first settled by a group of Native Americans known as the Lenni-Lenape. They were referred to as the Delaware Indians by the first European settlers. The Lenape were loosely organized bands of Native American people that practiced small-scale agriculture (mainly based on maize) in order to increase their largely mobile hunter-gatherer society in the region surrounding the Delaware River, the lower Hudson River, and western Long Island Sound. The Lenape society was divided into matrilinear clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign: Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf. Their primary relationship with the Dutch was through fur trade. The Lenape first encountered the Europeans in the early 1600s.

Much of New Jersey was owned by the Dutch before the arrival of the British. The Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern New York and New Jersey. The first purchase of land from the Native Americans was of Manhattan, by Peter Minuit. The Dutch policy was to require formal purchase of all land that they settled upon, although the principle of land ownership was not one that the existing inhabitants recognized, resulting in misunderstandings. The last of the Dutch governors was Peter Stuyvesant, who was often unpopular with his subjects. This was because he tried to restrict religious freedom: the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657 objected to his ban on Quakers as an infringement on the residents as Christians and as Dutch citizens. Peter Stuyvesant had used military coercion in order to accomplish certain of his tasks, which augmented his unpopularity. At New Netherland's height, 6,000 inhabitants resided in the colony.

Italian navigator John Cabot had left England in 1498 to explore North America, but never returned. The British later used Cabot's voyage as proof that England had claims to the North American lands. New Jersey's Cape May was discovered in 1609 by Sir Henry Hudson . Hudson was in serve of the Dutch East India Company. In his sails, he arrived at Jersey City. He passed through Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River before arriving at the Hudson River. Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch explorer, also explored the New Jersey and Delaware Bay area. Cape May was named after Mey, as well as Cape May, New Jersey and Cape May County.

In addition, some of southwestern New Jersey was settled by the Swedes by the mid-1600s . New Sweden was founded in March 1638. New Sweden rose to its height under governor Johan Björnsson Printz (1643-1653). Underneath Printz, the settlement extended as far north as Fort Christina (on both sides of the Delaware River). He helped to improve the military and commercial status of the colony by constructing Fort Nya Elfsborg, which is now near Salem, on the East side of the Delaware River. This action prevented the Delaware from being easily taken by the English and Dutch, who were also trying to expand into the New World. The Swedish and Finnish colonists lived peacefully with their Dutch and Lenape neighbors. Under the next and last governor of New Sweden, Johan Rising, the Swedes captured Fort Casimir (now New Castle, Delaware), which was close to Fort Christina but was on the western side of the Delaware River. After capturing the fort, it was named Fort Trinity by the Swedes.

This action provoked a furious Governor Stuyvesant, who took revenge the following summer. He had seven armed Dutch ships and 317 soldiers come to the Delaware River. Realizing that the situation was virtually hopeless for the Swedes, the vastly outnumbered Swedes immediately surrendered Fort Trinity. Governor Rising surrendered Fort Christina two weeks later. In 1654, the Dutch completely took over these lands and added them to her colony of New Netherland.

Province of New Jersey

The Dutch, from there colony of New Netherland, had interfered with the transatlantictrade from the British colonies in North America. Insisting that John Cabot had been the first to discover North America, the British granted the land that now encompasses New Jersey to the Duke of York. The Duke of York ordered Colonel Richard Nicolls to take over New Jersey. In September 1664, the entire region of New Jersey became a territory of Britain when a British fleet under the command of Richard Nicolls sailed into modern New York Harbor and seized the colony from the Dutch. The British received extremely little resistance from the Dutch, perhaps due to the fact that their governor, Peter Stuyvesant, was extremely unpopular After capturing the colony, Nicolls took the position as deputy-governor of New Amsterdam and the rest of New Netherland. Nicolls guaranteed their property rights, their laws of inheritance, and the enjoyment of religious freedom. New Netherland was renamed New Jersey after the English Channel of Jersey, and New Amsterdam was renamed New York after the Duke of York.

During the English Civil War the Channel Isle of Jersey remained loyal to the English Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. It was from the Royal Square in Saint Helier on Jersey that Charles II of England was first proclaimed King of England in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I of England. The new territory was divided by Charles II: He gave to his brother, the Duke of York (later King James II), the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). Later James granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had been loyal to him through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton.

The two proprietors of New Jersey immediately attempted to entice more settlers to move to New Jersey by granting sections of lands to settlers and by passing Concession and Agreement. Concession and Agreement was a document that granted religious freedom to all inhabitants of New Jersey; under the British government there was no such religious freedom. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay annual fees known as quitrents. Philip Carteret was appointed as the first governor of New Jersey by the two proprietors. Philip Carteret designated Elizabethtown as the first capital of the state.However, it became difficult for the two proprietors to collect these quitrents. As a result, on March 18, 1673 Berkeley sold his portion of the parts of New Jersey he owned to the Quakers. New Jersey was ruled as two separate provinces until 1702, when they were united under a single royal governor .

As a result, New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey. The exact border between West and East Jersey was often disputed, but now corresponds pretty much to the border dividing present day South and North Jersey. The border between the two sides reached the Atlantic Ocean to the north of Atlantic City. The border line was created by George Keith, and can still be seen in the county boundaries between Burlington and Ocean Counties, and between Hunterdon and Somerset Counties. The Keith line runs NNW from the southern part of Little Egg Harbor Township, passing just north of Tuckerton, and reaching upward to a point on the Delaware River which is just north of the Delaware Water Gap. Later, the 1676 Quintipartite Deed, helped to lessen the disputes. More accurate surveys and maps were made to resolve property disputes. This resulted in the Thornton line, drawn around 1696, and the Lawrence line, drawn around 1743, which was adopted as the final line for legal purposes.

On April 15, 1702, under the reign of Queen Anne, West and East Jersey were united and became a royal colony. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury became the first governor of the colony as a royal colony. However, he was an ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating land. In 1708, Lord Cornbury was recalled and moved back to England. New Jersey was then ruled by the governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, accusing those governors of favoritism to New York. Judge Lewis Morris led the case for a separate governor, and was appointed governor by King George II in 1738.

American Revolution Era

New Jersey was one of the original thirteen colonies which joined in the struggle for independence against Great Britain. Not all of the settlers of New Jersey favored joining a war against Great Britain. Many of them had just left Great Britain and still felt ties of loyalty to the English crown. These included the governor of New Jersey, William Franklin. Others such as slaves joined sides with the British in return for freedom. For example, Colonel Tye was a slave who escaped and joined the British army, leading constant raids against the people of New Jersey.

New Jersey is often referred to as the "Crossroads of the Revolution" for the fact that several decisive battles were fought between the Americans and the British as the two armies crossed over several times into New Jersey over the Delaware River . Throughout the entire course of the Revolutionary War, there were many clashes between the Americans and British within the colony of New Jersey. In total, there were 296 engagements that occurred within New Jersey, more clashes than that occurred in any other colony in the entire American Revolution. The three most major battles fought in New Jersey are the Battles of Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth. The first two of them are referred to as the Ten Crucial Days because the desperately needed victories at those two battles heavily bolstered the morale of the nation.

On Christmas night of 1776, the Continental Army underneath the command of General George Washington made their famous crossing of the Delaware River. They took the Hessians stationed in Trenton by surprise; the Hessians were not prepared for an attack during an important holiday. The majority of them were still asleep or drunk from the partying. In the resulting Battle of Trenton, the Continental Army crushed the Hessians. The Hessians unsuccessfully attempted to retreat as the American left, and were completely surrounded by the Continental Army. As a result of the battle, the Americans captured nearly 900 Hessian soldiers within 90 minutes. In addition, they took the supplies that had been placed in Trenton for use by the British army. George Washington then had the soldiers recross safely back into Pennsylvania. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River was immortalized in Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. It is also displayed on the New Jersey State Quarter. The battle helped to increase the waning confidence of the Continental Congress.

On January 3, 1777, the Continental Army defeated the British army under General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton. Cornwallis hoped to engage Washington's army at Trenton after George Washington recrossed the Delaware River, resulting in the Second Battle of Trenton. Cornwallis's initial results were failures. After recapturing Trenton, he ordered charges on defenses fortified by Washington at Assunpink Creek. The Americans, from their defenses, fired volleys at the advancing troops, striking heavy casualties in the British army. Later, General Washington moved the majority of his army on a surprise attack upon British troops stationed at Princeton. At the same time, he left a few troops to stall Cornwallis by creating false signals (campfires, loud noises, fortifications) to pretend as if the Continental Army was still stationed in Trenton. The British soldiers at Princeton were soon forced to surrender to the Americans, and Nassau Hall was recaptured. Cornwallis immediately moved to bring his army to engage Washington but failed due to snipers and bridges destroyed by the Americans. These two victories forced the British to leave New Jersey, boosting the morale of the Americans.

In June 28, 1778, the Continental Army under George Washington met a British column under Sir Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth. George Washington hoped to surprise the rear of the British army and overwhelm the British. General Charles Lee led the American attack on the British rear but retreated quickly when the British attempted to flank the Americans. The retreat nearly led to massive disorder, but Washington managed to personally rally the troops to withstand the British counterattacks. The British attempted two attacks to defeat the Americans; both failed. As exceedingly high temperatures continued to increase over 100 Fahrenheit, many soldiers fell to sunstroke. After the battle, Charles Lee was court-martialed for his poor army command. Over 1,000 British casualties were incurred; the Americans lost about 452 men. It was during this battle that the famous legend of Molly Pitcher occurred in .

The last major battle to take place in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War (and for the rest of the history of New Jersey) was the Battle of Springfield. Baron von Knyphausen, the Hessian general, hoped to start an invasion of New Jersey and expected support from the colonists of New Jersey who were tired of the war. His goal was to secure Hobart Gap, from which he could attack the American headquarters situated in Morristown. On June 23, 1780, the British attacked soldiers under the command of Nathanael Greene. General Greene successfully stopped a two-pronged attack from entrenchments held across the Raritan River. The victory prevented a British invasion of New Jersey.

In the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall of Princeton University. It had originally convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but mutinous troops prevented the meeting from taking place there. Princeton became the temporary capitol for the soon independent nation through these four months. During the brief stay in Princeton, the Continental Congress was informed of the end of the war by the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. The chief dignitary of the meeting was George Washington, and a portrait was made of Washington during the meeting. On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the Constitution. On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state in the Nation to ratify the Bill of Rights.

New Jersey played a principal role in the creating the structure of the new United States Government. When Virginia came up with the Virginia Plan, which called for representation in government proportional to the population of each state, the smaller states refused, fearing that with such a plan they would no longer have a say in government affairs. William Patterson, a New Jersey statesman, introduced the New Jersey Plan, by which one vote would be given to each state, providing equal representation within the legislative body. Under the Great Compromise, both plans were placed into use with two separate bodies in the Congress, with the Senate being modeled after the structure in the New Jersey Plan.

Original New Jersey State Constitution 1776

In 1776, the first Constitution of New Jersey was drafted. It was written during the period of the Revolutionary War, and was designed to create a basic framework for the state government. The constitution allowed the right of suffrage to women and black men who met certain property requirements. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 gives the vote to "all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money." This included blacks, spinsters, and widows. (Married women could not own property under the common law.) It had been held that this was an accident of hasty drafting: the British were at Staten Island when the constitution was proclaimed. The Constitution declares itself temporary, and it was to be void if there was reconciliation with Great Britain .

Both sides in elections mocked the other for relying on "petticoat electors" and each accused the other of letting unqualified women (including married women) vote. A Federalist legislature passed a voting rights act which applied only to those counties where the Federalists were strong. A Democratic legislature extended it to the entire state. In 1807, as a side-effect of a reconciliation within the Democratic Party, the legislature reinterpreted the constitution (which had been an ordinary act of the Provincial Congress) to mean universal white male suffrage, with no property requirement. However, they disenfranchised paupers, to suppress the Irish vote.

Industrial Revolution

Paterson became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America. Energy was harnessed from the 77-foot high Great Falls of the Passaic River. The city became an important site for mills and other industries. These include the textile, firearms, silk, and railroad locomotive manufacturing industries. As a result of its high silk production, it became nicknamed the "Silk City". In 1835, Samuel Colt began producing firearms in the city.

Thomas Edison, famous inventor, was born in 1847. He was called "the Wizard of Menlo Park" for his amazing inventions and improvements to other ideas. Over the course of his entire life, he was granted 1,093 patents . He worked in Menlo Park. Of his most famous contributions included his design of the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the kinetoscope, the stock ticker, the telegraph, the Dictaphone, the radio, the tattoo gun, and the telephone. He started the Motion Picture Patents Company. One of his famous sayings was, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration".

New Jersey State Constitution 1844

The second version of the New Jersey State Constitution was written in 1844. The constitution provided the right of suffrage only to white males, removing it from women and black men. The right of suffrage had previously been awarded to those groups underneath the Original New Jersey State Constitution of 1776. Some of the important components of the second State Constitution include the separation of the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The new constitution also provided a bill of rights. Underneath the constitution, the people had the right to elect the governor.

Wars of the 1800s

Though no major battles were fought in New Jersey, soldiers and volunteers from New Jersey became an important part through the wars that the United States of America participated in. These wars included the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War. Philip Kearny, who lived in New Jersey, became a principal figure in the Mexican War and the American Civil War. George Brinton McClellan was an important general during the Civil War, and was elected governor of New Jersey in 1877, serving in office from 1878 to 1881.

During the Mexican-American War, there was a single battalion composed of volunteers from New Jersey. That battalion included four companies. The battalion was active from the September of 1847 to the July of 1848. The war was over by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed on February 2, 1848. Philip Kearny, an officer who led a cavalry unit, followed General Winfield Scott and fought in the Battle of Contreras and Battle of Churubusco. After the war, Kearny made his home in the state of New Jersey.

American Civil War and Slavery

The Quaker population of New Jersey was especially intolerant of slavery. However, New Jersey ended up becoming the last of the northern states to abolish slavery by enacting legislation which caused the slow abolishment of slavery. Though New Jersey passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, it wasn't until 1830 that most blacks were free in the state. However, by the close of the Civil War, about a dozen African-Americans in New Jersey were still apprenticed freedmen. New Jersey at first refused to ratify the Constitutional Amendments that banned slavery. New Jersey was a major part of the extensive Underground Railroad system.

No battles took place within New Jersey throughout the course of the Civil War. However, over 88,000 soldiers from New Jersey were part of several infantry and cavalry regiments. In total, 31 regiments were created by New Jersey soldiers during this war. 23,116 of those soldiers served in the Army of the Potomac. Soldiers from New Jersey fought generally in the Eastern theater of the Civil War Over 6,000 soldiers from New Jersey lost their lives in the war. Philip Kearny, an officer from the Mexican-American War, led a brigade of New Jersey regiments under Brigadier General William B. Franklin. Kearny distinguished himself as a brilliant officer during the Peninsula Campaign, and was promoted to the position of major general.

New Jersey was one of the few states to vote for Stephen Douglas instead of Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential Election of 1860. The people of New Jersey also gave its electoral votes to George McClellan when he ran for President against Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864, being the only free state that rejected Lincoln twice. McClellan later became the governor of New Jersey, from 1878 to 1881.

Many cities like Paterson, New Jersey and Camden, New Jersey grew extremely strong through the duration of the Civil War. They produced many necessities, including clothing and war materials like ammunition. These cities prospered through constant production even after the end of the war. Cities like those of Paterson and Camden became crucial to the Northern war effort. With the Union's ability to manufacture more supplies, the Union was able to defeat the Confederates and successfully conclude the war and reunite the country.

Early 1900s and World War I

The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was a large integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing organization, founded by Henry H. Rogers, William Rockefeller, and John D. Rockefeller. In 1911, the United States Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, viewing it as violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Standard Oil had controlled nearly 90% of refined oil flows into the United States, having a near complete monopoly upon it. Standard Oil Company was split into 34 smaller companies as a result of the dissolution.

New Jersey was a site of shipbuilding throughout the World War I period. Refineries and ammunition factories were also built to supply war materiel. Factories like the Singer Company based in Elizabeth, New Jersey converted from making sewing machines to making weapon parts. Several camps and forts were opened for use by soldiers during the war. The roles of these sites were generally to provide a location for soldiers to stock up on supplies, receive medical treatment, or become discharged. Several Allied ships were sunken off of the coast of New Jersey.

Camp Merritt was activated for use in World War I. It was from there that many soldiers headed for war in Europe were deployed to Hoboken, New Jersey in order to be shipped off to Europe. Camp Merritt was decommissioned in November of 1919 . Fort Dix, in Pemberton Township, New Jersey, was also constructed to help in the war effort starting in June of 1917 . It was used as a training and staging ground throughout the war. After the end of the war, it was converted into a demobilization center.

In addition to camps for training soldiers, factories were needed desperately to produce ammunition to help the war effort. Four companies that produced ammunition were created during the World War I period: Atlantic Loading Co., Bethlehem Loading Company, DuPont Engineering Company, and T.A. Gillespie Loading Company. Around 1919, after the end of the World War I, these companies and plants slowed and ceased production of war materials. In addition, New Jersey became a leading chemical producer worldwide after discovering German secrets. Many chemical companies in New Jersey were able to exploit their advantage to become some of the largest chemical producers.

Roaring Twenties and Great Depression

Like much of the United States, New Jersey entered a prosperous state in the 1920s. Jobs were plentiful. Through this period, New Jersey's population increased greatly. Though factory production decreased after the conclusion of World War I, production lines still remained in relatively high production.

Transportation became much easier through the 1920s. Roads were paved and improved greatly. An addition, cars became affordable, and many people owned cars. As a result, thousands of people who had never been farther than there hometown now could leave the state. The Jersey shore became extremely popular through this period of time. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge was completed, linking Camden, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1926. The Holland Tunnel, under the Hudson River, was completed in 1927 providing a means of easy transportation between New Jersey and New York City. Before, ferries were required to travel across theHudson River. Later on, the George Washington Bridge (1931) and the [[Lincoln Tunnel (1937) were completed, making access to Manhattan even easier.

New Jersey was also the first state in the United States to ratify Prohibition, which restricted the purchasing and selling of alcohol. However, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which banned alcohol consumption, was later repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in the December of 1933. By 1933, Newark breweries reopened.

Like the rest of the United States, New Jersey was hit hard by the Great Depression. By 1933, one-tenth of the population were dependent upon the Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In fact, New Jersey issued begging licenses to the poor and unemployed people because the New Jersey government funds were growing low and were being exhausted . Under the Works Progress Administration, part of the Second New Deal by FDR, many new jobs were provided in order to support the poor and unemployed. These projects included the expansion of Fort Dix, Roosevelt Park in Edison, and Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway. Strikes also grew common during the Great Depression; in 1937 a group of gravediggers from New Jersey went on strike.

It was during the Great Depression that the infamous The War of the Worlds broadcast was made in New Jersey in 1932 by Orson Welles. In the broadcast, listeners were told that a "huge, flaming object, believed to be a meteorite, fell on a farm in the neighborhood of Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, twenty-two miles from Trenton." It went on to describe extraterrestrial monsters that destroyed massive stretches of lands in New Jersey as well as massacring many people. The result was a flood of panic into New Jersey and the surrounding areas .Many people had believed the bulletin to be real, and that New Jersey truthfully was being torn up by giant and immensely powerful Martians. People fled the New Jersey area, while others worked hard to blockade their homes and ensure safety from the reported monsters. It turned into a huge relief when at the end of the bulletin it was announced that none of the broadcast had actually been true. By that time, though, many people had been convinced of the Martians, and some had taken many precautions against them. CBS was criticized for allowing fictitious bulletins to gain attention of listeners. Welles and the other broadcasters were not punished by law, but were held under a brief informal "house arrest" for a short period of time while bombarded by questions by news reporters.

During the Great Depression, 20-month old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, was abducted from his home near Hopewell, New Jersey. The result was a long and dreary investigation for the kidnapper of the baby. The police proceeded to seal off many roads in order to prevent the kidnapper's escape, and interrogated the members of the Lindbergh household. (In fact, the stress of being under police questioning led to the suicide of Violet Sharpe). Dr. John F. Condon became a negotiator between the kidnapper "John" and the Lindbergh family. The kidnapper demanded a ransom of $50,000, which was paid but turned out to be a hoax. Two other hoaxes were perpetrated by two other people who were not involved in the kidnapping, desperate to get their hands on ransom money. Both were charged after there declarations proved false.

However, federal experts and detectives slowly managed to make a noose around the kidnapper. James J. Finn was a lieutenant who would track the ransom money and travel to banks to capture the kidnapper while passing the ransom bills. Meanwhile, Arthur Koehler, a federal expert, carefully examined the ladder used by the kidnapper. He traced the ladder to a company in McCormick, South Carolina. Finally, a ransom note was located and traced to Bruno Hauptmann; the bill had the license plate number of Hauptmann's Dodge Saloon that was written down by a gas attendant. He was tried in Flemington, New Jersey in what was known as the "Trial of the Century", and was convicted. He was electrocuted in the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. As a result of the Lindbergh kidnapping the Federal Kidnapping Act, also known as the Lindbergh Law, was passed making kidnapping a federal law.

Also during the Great Depression, the German zeppelin Hindenburg exploded over Lakehurst, New Jersey. As it was landing while approaching a mooring mast in Lakehurst, the zeppelin suddenly caught fire, causing the deaths of 36 people. Within 34 seconds the entire hydrogen-filled zeppelin was engulfed in flames. The Hindenburg had flown an entire successful year of voyages, completing a total of 17 trips the previous year before it caught on fire. The actual cause of ignition is in controversy: some of the theories for the sudden flames include sabotage against the German Nazis, static buildup, and flammable fabric.

World War II

New Jersey shipyards were responsible for the construction of several naval ships. These ships included battleships, aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers and many destroyers. New Jersey received a total of 9% of all allied war-related contracts throughout the World War II era . One of the stations opened for naval production during the war was Naval Weapons Station Earle, in Monmouth County, which provided ships with a safe port to take on ammunition. A German U-boat (U-689) was sunken off the coast of New Jersey in 1945.

Camp Kilmer was a staging area built to serve the port of New York. It was located close to New Brunswick. Buildings were painted such that they had a camouflage effect. Camp Kilmer helped to serve troops by offering medical care and providing them with supplies. Camp Kilmer became inactive in 1949 but was reactivated due to the Korean War. Fort Dix was opened again for the training of soldiers for the war effort. Nearly 500,000 soldiers enlisted for serving in the war. As a result, many women took over their husbands’ places in the workforce.

It again became inactive in 1955, but was reactivated for the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In addition, Millville Airport was opened during World War II, on August 2, 1941. It was called "America's First Defense Airport" because it was opened as a gunnery training area for fighter pilots. Over 1,500 pilots were trained for advanced aircraft fighting at this airport . Fort Hancock, New Jersey was also opened in Sandy Hook (New Jersey). Gunners positioned in the fort prevented German submarines from entering the New York Harbor.

Many internment camps/relocation camps were opened in the United States to house people of Japanese descent, as well as those of German and Italian descent. One of these internment camps was located in Gloucester City, New Jersey. In addition, Seabrook Farms, New Jersey, a struggling farm in New Jersey, took advantage of Japanese labor to increase productivity. The government allowed small groups of Japanese people from these internment camps to work at Seabrook Farms. Small, broken-down houses were given to these Japanese workers, called Hoovervilles. At the end of World War II, the government closed down the internment camps. Many people from these camps found work at Seabrook Farms .

New Jersey State Constitution 1947

The current version of the New Jersey State Constitution was ratified in 1947. The new parts of the State Constitution included a reorganization of the state government. The power of the governor was increased by allowing the governor to remain in that position for four years instead of the original three. It provides for a bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate of 40 members and an Assembly of 80 members. The new State Constitution returned the right of suffrage to females and blacks. The eleven articles, in order, cover basic rights, elections, separation of powers, the Legislature, executive powers (Governor), judicial branch, public officers and employees, taxation and finance, amendments, general provisions, and the schedule.

Cold War

The Cold War was a period of time where a restricted struggle developed after World War II between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. During the Cold War, president Lyndon Johnson met with Soviet premier Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey . No specific agreements were reached during the meeting, though the meeting helped to improve the strained relationships between the Soviet Union and the US.

Because of its strategic location on the East Coast, New Jersey had an important part in the defense of the United States during the Cold War. 14 Nike anti-aircraft missile battery sites were constructed in New Jersey with the purpose of protecting the area around Philadelphia and New York City. They provided a massive defense line for metropolitan areas. The missile sites were divided into the northern group associated with the defense of New York, and the southern group affiliated with defending Philadelphia. Also, a regional command center was built in New Jersey. By 1974, the missile sites became inactive. In addition to these, air defense radar sites, bases for interceptor aircraft, anti-aircraft gun batteries, surface-to-air missile sites, and command and control facilities were constructed in order to defend against the threat of attack by long range, nuclear-armed aircraft of the Soviet Air Force.

Recent Events

Politics

New Jersey is a politically competitive state. The Governorship has alternated between the parties since the election of Democratic Richard J. Hughes in 1961 until Jon Corzine was elected to replace Democratic acting governor Richard Codey after the resignation of Jim McGreevey. The New Jersey Legislature has also switched hands, and one house was evenly divided from 1999–2001. Three of the last four gubernatorial elections have been close. The Congressional seats have also been as evenly divided as thirteen seats can be.

In national elections, the state now tends to lean towards the national Democratic Party. It was, however, a Republican stronghold for years in the past, having given comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of 1948, 1968, and 1976. New Jersey was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968, and 1992. In national elections, the state gave large victories to Democrats in the 1990's, and in the 2004 presidential election, Democratic John F. Kerry defeated George W. Bush in New Jersey by a margin of about 6%. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Clifford P. Case in 1979. (Nicholas Brady was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor Tom Kean in 1982 after Harrison A. Williams resigned the Senate seat following the Abscam investigations. Brady served eight months in office.)

The state's Democratic strongholds include Mercer County around the cities of Trenton and Princeton; Essex County and Hudson County, the state's two most urban counties, around the state's two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City; as well as in Camden County and most of the other urban communities just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City. More suburban northern counties in the orbit of New York, such as Union and Middlesex, also trend Democratic. The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have strong backing along the coast in New Jersey and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially in Sussex County, Morris County and Warren County. Somerset and Hunterdon counties, more suburban counties in the region, also lean Republican but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 presidential election, Bush received about 51% in Somerset and 56% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush garnered 64% of the vote.

About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, though most lean toward one party, usually the Democrats. For example, Bergen County, is solidly Republican in wealthier north and solidly Democratic in the more populated south causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic. The same is true of Passaic County which has a densely-populated, heavily Hispanic Democratic south and a rural Republican north. Some other counties such as Cape May County lean Republican because the urbanized areas in those counties are relatively small compared to those of the more heavily Democratic counties.

Former Governor James E. McGreevey resigned on November 15, 2004 after confessing to being gay, and New Jersey had no position of Lieutenant Governor at the time. Jon Corzine was elected Governor of New Jersey on November 8, 2005, and takes office on January 17, 2006. During this time, Richard Codey (Democrat) is the Acting governor, because he is President of the State Senate. However, on Election Day, November 8, 2005, the voters passed an amendment to the state constitution that creates the position of Lieutenant Governor, effective with the 2009 elections. The amendment also provides that in the event of a permanent vacancy in the office of Governor after January 17, 2006 (when the next Governor is sworn in) and before the first Lieutenant Governor takes office in 2010, the President of the Senate, followed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, would become Governor (rather than Acting Governor) but will now be required to vacate his or her Senate (or Assembly) seat.

References

• Gerdes, Louise I (2000). The 1930s. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc.
• Klinghoffer and Elkis (1992). "The Petticoat Electors: Women’s Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic, 12, no. 2: 159–193.
• Stewart, Mark (2004). New Jersey: History. Chicago: Heinemann Library. ISBN 1-4034-0673-1.
• Streissguth, Thomas (2002). New Jersey. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc.. ISBN 1-56006-872-8.

Notes

1. The first interactions between Europeans and Native Americans living in the region occurred around the 1600s. For article about these Native Americans, see Lenape.
2. New Jersey became a state after ratifying the United States Constitution in December 18, 1787, with a 100% vote for the Constitution to pass by all 38 delegates. See Article Seven of the United States Constitution, which describes the process by which the Constitution was ratified by states, as well as statistics for ratification.
3. Geological History by Great Swamp Watershed Association, retrieved December 22, 2005.
4. New Jersey History by Susan Ditmire, American Local History Network, December 6, 2005, retrieved December 9, 2005.
5. "A Brief History of New Sweden in America", retrieved December 16, 2005.
6. Peter Stuyvesant and his council took several measures concerning religion in New Netherland, heightening his unpopularity, and was also known for being hot-tempered. He took advantage of military coercion in order to increase his own power, shown in an event with Van Slechtenhorst. Stuyvesant grew haughty in his treatment of his opponents and threatened to dissolve the council in response to an angry outbreak at a meeting of commissioners on September, 1650. Peter Stuyvesant StanKlos.com (2001), retrieved December 15, 2005.
7. Elizabeth, New Jersey was not named after Queen Elizabeth I, but rather after the wife of Sir George Carteret, and was founded in 1664.
8. Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty by The Avalon Project at Yale Law School, retrieved December 15, 2005.
9. Crossroads of the American Revolution by Heritage Trail Association, retrieved December 16, 2005.
10. It is believed by historians that the painting is not historically accurate. In the painting, George Washington stands up, but the stormy conditions and the extremely small size of the boat would've prevented him from standing up without causing the boat to topple over. Also, the flag displayed on the painting was designed in 1777, after George Washington's 1776 actual Delaware River crossing. For a complete argument against the historical aspects of the painting, see Washington Crossing the Delaware.
11. The different tales that related to Molly Pitcher (whose real name is Mary Hays McCauly) tales are now regarded by most historians as folklore rather than history, though real women did actually inspire these stories. See Molly Pitcher.
12. Klinghoffer and Elkis. "The Petticoat Electors: Women’s Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic, 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.
13. The Wizard of Menlo Park, retrieved December 16, 2005.
14. New Jersey in the Civil War, retrieved December 18, 2005.
15. Camp Merritt by Kevin Wright, retrieved December 19, 2005.
16. Fort Dix, retrieved December 19, 2005.
17. Gerdes, Louise I. The 1930s, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000.
18. Gerdes pg 210-218
19. Gerdes pg 230-240
20. World War II Time Line: New Jersey and the World, retrieved December 17, 2005.
21. Stewart, Mark. New Jersey: History. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2004. ISBN 1-4034-0673-1. pp 30-37
22. Millville Army Airfield, by JasperDyne Industries, retrieved December 26, 2005.
23. Seabrook Museum, retrieved December 26, 2005.
24. Biography of Lyndon Johnson (February 4, 2004), retrieved December 25, 2005.
25. Donald E. Bender (1999). Nike Missile Sites in New Jersey. Retrieved December 17, 2005.
    http://alpha.fdu.edu/~bender/NYmsg.html

See Also

• New Jersey
• New Jersey Supreme Court
• New Jersey Senate
• New Jersey General Assembly
• List of Governors of New Jersey

External links

• List of Governors of New Jersey
• Everything Jersey
• New Jersey county information for students

• History of New Jersey
• History of the United States by state