New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south and southwest by Delaware; and on the west by Pennsylvania. The western border of New Jersey is largely defined by the Delaware River. Because of its dense population and because most communities of northern New Jersey do not have the widespread reservoir system of neighboring Greater New York City, the slightest dry season leads to drought warnings; but because there are many streams and rivers close to these communities, the slightest above average rainfall causes frequent flooding as many parts of Northern New Jersey is part of a flood plain. It is also at the center of a the Boston to Washington megalopolis.
New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. North Jersey lies within New York City's general sphere of influence largely within the New York metropolitan area, in which reside many residents commuting to the city to work. Central Jersey is a largely suburban area. South Jersey is within Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's general sphere of influence, and most of it is included in the Delaware Valley. Such geographic definitions are loosely defined, however, and there is often dispute over where one region begins and another ends. Some people do not consider Central Jersey to exist at all, but most believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.
Additionally, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission divides the state into six distinct regions to facilitate the state's tourism industry. The regions are:
Sandy Hook, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier spit and the extension of a barrier peninsula along the state's coast.
New Jersey has a temperate climate, with warm/hot summers and cool/cold winters. During the hurricane season, tropical cyclones can hit New Jersey, though it is unusual for them to travel this far up the east coast. During the winter months, Nor'easters can dump up to two feet of snow at once.
Average high temperatures (in °F) in New Jersey are:
30 to 40 in January/February
50 to 60 in March
60 to 72 in April
70 to 80 in May/June
80 to 90 in July/August
70 to 80 in September
60 to 72 in October
50 to 60 in November
40 to 50 in December
The temperatures vary greatly from the northernmost part of New Jersey to the southernmost part of New Jersey. For example, these are the average high and low temperatures for Cape May, NJ and Sussex, NJ:
Cape May/Sussex Comparisons
January 34/14 42/27
February 38/16 43/28
Record temperatures have reached 20 to 30 degrees above average in each month.
Some claim there is evidence suggesting that people have inhabited New Jersey since 10,500 BC. This would have been a post Ice age culture consisting of traveling hunters. However, the Europeans were the first to document the land. New Jersey’s first European presence was not until the year 1497, when an English explorer named John Cabot first saw New Jersey while sailing up the coast. “Florentine, Giovanni da Verrazano, reportedly visited the coast in 1524” but neither of these men are considered New Jersey’s discoverer (McCormick 3). Cabot failed to explore the land and Verrazano left no record supporting his claim.
Sir Henry Hudson is the explorer generally credited with having discovered New Jersey in 1609. On September 4, 1609 he dropped anchor in Cape May and took a crew of 20 men for a week of exploration. He didn’t leave any European culture behind, but he did document his discovery very well. New Jersey’s first taste of European personality came from Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey. In “1620 he sailed up the Delaware, and in 1624 he erected Fort Nassau at the Mouth of Timber Creek” (Pomfret 5b). He explored the greater Delaware Bay area and confirmed that the land was good for planting. He declared it as ready for colonization and named Cape May in his own honor.
Europeans agreed that the land was good for planting, but they felt discontent towards the inhabitants. The Lenni-Lenape tribe occupied New Jersey at this time. The Europeans found them strange and uncivilized; while in fact that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The Lenni-LenapeNative Americans tribe was part of the greater Algonquin nation. The tribe was well organized into “three groups, which were geographic distributed” (Worton 27). These sub-tribes each had a sub-chief or sakima. The sub-tribes each had their respective names, “the Minsi, or the people of the stony country in the north; the Unami, or the people down the river in the central portion; and Unilachitgo or the people who leave near the ocean in the south” (ibid 27). The Unami sakima was normally thought to be the chief of the whole Lenni-Lenape tribe. The tribe was in fact so well organized that it had a network of trails resembling the locations of many of our modern-day highways. They were also the leading force of peace within the nation. The tribe was frequently asked to serve as intermediaries to settle inter-tribal conflicts.
It was their contact with the early Dutch traders that would be the beginning of the end for the Lenni-Lenape. In 1638, a company of Swedes and ethnic Finns, under the supervision of Dutch political and commercial interests, set sail for the New World. They sailed across the North Atlantic, south along the New Jersey Coast, then into the Delaware Bay and up the Delaware River to Wilmington. They began to settle both sides of the Delaware at a site not far from what would become Salem. A fort named Old Fort Elfsborg became the central hub for trade. The Scandinavian influence prevails today as linguists theorize that certain speech patterns in Southern New Jersey area are traceable to the mixed and changing Swedish-English vocabulary.
Much of New Jersey was claimed by the Dutch. The Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern New York (Nieuw Amsterdam) and New Jersey. Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch policy required formal purchase of all land settled upon, and the first such purchase was of Manhattan, by Peter Minuit.
The entire region became a territory of England in 1664, when a British fleet under the command of Colonel Richard Nicolls sailed into what is today New York Harbor and took over the colony, against extremely little resistance.
Settlement for the first 10 years of English rule was in the Hudson River region and came primarily from New England. On March 18, 1673, Berkeley sold his half of the colony to Quakers in England (with William Penn acting as trustee for a time), who settled the Delaware Valley region as a Quaker colony. New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces, West Jersey and East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. In 1702, the two provinces were united under a royal, rather than a proprietary, governor.
New Jersey representatives Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and Abraham Clark were among the men who signed the United States Declaration of Independence. These men, just like all the others, took tremendous risks in order to fight for independence and all went on to serve their newly founded country for the rest of their lives. Distinguished lawyer Richard Stockton, New Jersey born and College of New Jersey graduate, sacrificed his royal judicial title and his considerable international economic interest in order to be an elected delegate for New Jersey at the General Congress. John Witherspoon was a Scottish immigrant. He came to New Jersey to serve as the sixth president of the College of New Jersey. He was a world renowned Presbyterian minister and became a leading member of the Continental Congress. Witherspoon went on to become one of the leaders of the new national Presbyterian church. Francis Hopkinson was somewhat of a renaissances man for his time. He was articulate in several fields of the arts and a very impressive scientist. Perhaps the capstone of his career was being appointed by President George Washington to the federal bench. John Hart was prominent land owner and judge of the Hunterdon County court. Like Stockton, he sacrificed his high standing with the royal court and dedicated his life to the New Jersey Assembly. After signing the Declaration of Independence, he went on to become the speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. The last of the men was native to Elizabethtown, Abraham Clark. He was slightly different from his fellow New Jersey representatives. He jumped from job to job working as a farmer, surveyor, transporter, legal adviser, and finally politician. He was well liked in all these field and had become a prominent member of society, but he found his home in government. Upon this he had held numerous political positions at all the various levels of government.
It was an act of the Provincial Congress, which made itself into the state Legislature. To reassure neutrals, it provided that it would become void if New Jersey reached a reconciliation with Great Britain.
During the American Revolutionary War, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Because of this, New Jersey today is often referred to as "The Crossroads of the Revolution."
Later, American forces under Washington met the forces under General Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth in an indecisive engagement. Washington attempted to take the British column by surprise; when the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Americans retreated in disorder. The ranks were later reorganized and withstood the British charges.
New Jersey was the third state to ratify the United States Constitution, which was overwhelmingly popular in New Jersey, as it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging and keeping tariffs on goods imported from Europe. In November 20, 1789, the state became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights.
The 1776 New Jersey State Constitution gave the vote to "all inhabitants" who had a certain level of wealth. This included both women and blacks; although not married women, who could not own property. Both sides, in several elections, claimed that the other side had had unqualified women vote, and mocked them for use of "petticoat electors" (entitled to vote or not); on the other hand, both parties passed Voting Rights Acts. In 1807, the legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal white male suffrage, excluding paupers. (This was less revolutionary than it sounds: the "constitution" was itself only an act of the legislature.) [1]
On February 15, 1804, New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery by enacting legislation that slowly phased out slavery. However, by the close of the Civil War, about a dozen African-Americans in New Jersey were still apprenticed freedmen. New Jersey initially refused to ratify the Constitutional Amendments banning slavery and granting rights to America's Black population.
Unlike the Revolutionary War, no Civil War battles took place within the state. However, throughout the course of the Civil War, over 80,000 enlisted in the Northern army to defeat the Southern rebels. In total, soldiers from New Jersey formed 4 militia regiments, 33 infantry regiments, 3 cavalry regiments, and 5 batteries of light artillery.
New Jersey was one of the few states to reject President Abraham Lincoln twice in national elections, and sided with Stephen Douglas and George B. McClellan during their campaigns. McClellan later became governor. During the war, the state was led first by Republican Governor Charles Smith Olden, then by Democrat Joel Parker.
In 1844, the second state constitution was ratified and brought into effect. Counties thereby became districts for the State Senate, and some realignment of boundaries (including the creation of Mercer County) immediately followed. This provision was retained in the 1947 Constitution, but was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1961.
While the Governorship was stronger than under the 1776 constitution (it could hardly be weaker), the 1844 created many offices that were not responsible to him, or to the people, and gave him a three-year term, but he could not succeed himself.
In the Industrial Revolution, cities like Paterson grew and prospered. Previously, the economy had been largely agrarian, which was problematically subject to crop failures and poor soil. This caused a shift to a more industrialized economy, one based on manufactured commodities such as textiles and silk. Inventor Thomas Edison also became an important figure of the Industrial Revolution, having been granted 1,093 patents. Transportation was greatly improved as locomotion and steamboats were introduced to New Jersey.
Iron mining was also a prevalent industry during the middle to late 1800s. Mines such as Mt. Hope, Mine Hill and the Rockaway Valley Mines created a thriving industry, which spawned new towns and was one of the driving forces behind the need for the Morris Canal.
Through both World Wars, New Jersey was a center for war production, especially in naval construction. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were all made in this state. In addition, Camp Kilmer, Fort Dix (originally called "Camp Dix"), and Camp Merritt were all constructed to help American soldiers through both World Wars. New Jersey also became a principal location for defense in the Cold War. Fourteen Nike Missile stations were constructed, especially for the defense of New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PT-109, commanded by Lt.(jg) John F. Kennedy, was built at the Elco Boatworks in Bayonne, and the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6) was briefly docked at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne in the 1950s before she was sent to Japan to be scrapped.
New Jersey became a prosperous state through the Roaring Twenties but fell in prosperity under the Great Depression. Begging licenses were even offered to the unemployed by the state government in order to provide money for those who could not be helped by the exhausted state funds.[2] During this time period, the zeppelin Hindenburg went up in flames over Lakehurst.
In the 1960s, several race riots sprang up in New Jersey, the first of which occurred in Jersey City on August 2, 1964. Several other riots ensued in 1967, in the cities of Newark and Plainfield. Camden also dealt with race riots in 1971. The 1960s race riots in Freehold are mentioned in the Bruce Springsteen song "My Hometown."
Residents of New Jersey are most commonly referred to as "New Jerseyans" or "New Jerseyites". The United States Census Bureau, as of 2005, estimated New Jersey's population at 8,717,925, which represents an increase of 32,759, or 0.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 303,578, or 3.6%, since the last census in 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 220,220 people (that is 604,110 births minus 383,890 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 95,293 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 290,194 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 194,901 people. There are 1.6 million foreign-born living in the state (accounting for 19.2% of the population).
New Jersey is the tenth-most-populous state, but the most densely populated, at 1,134.4 residents per square mile (438.0 per km²), although the density varies widely across the state. It is also the wealthiest state in the United States as per the United States Census Bureau.[3]
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
The racial/ethnic makeup of New Jersey as of 2004 is:[4]
New Jersey is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse states in the country. It has the second largest Jewish population by percent (after New York); the second largest Muslim population by percent (after Michigan); the third highest Italian-American population by percent of any state according to the 2000 Census; and a large percentage of the population is Black, Hispanic, Arab, and Asian. It has the second highest Indian American population of any state by absolute numbers.
[5][6][7][8]
Newark and Camden are two of the poorest cities in America, but New Jersey as a whole has the highest median household income among the states. This is largely because so much of New Jersey consists of suburbs, most of them affluent, of New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation, and the only state that has had every one of its counties deemed "urban" as defined by the Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area.[9]
New Jersey population distribution
The dominant race, ethnicity, or ancestry by county, according to the 2000 Census, are the following:
Italian - Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Ocean, Monmouth
Irish - Sussex
Black - Essex, Union, Mercer, Hudson
German - Warren, Hunterdon
Polish/Slavic - Middlesex
Puerto Rican/Hispanic - Hudson, Passaic
6.7% of its population were reported as under 5, 24.8% under 18, and 13.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.5% of the population.
Religion
The religious affiliations of adults of New Jersey are:
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Jersey's total state product in 2004 was $416 billion.[10] Its per capita personal income in 2004 was $41,636, 4th in the U.S. and 126% of the national average of $33,041.[11] Its median household income is the highest in the nation with $55,146. It is ranked 2nd in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are in the wealthiest 100 of the country. Women in New Jersey earn the highest per capita income as stated in a 2002 article in the Newark Star-Ledger.
Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular, cranberries and eggplant are two of the state's largest crops. Hammonton in the southern part of the state is known as the blueberry capital of the world. Its industrial outputs are pharmaceutical and chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's economy has a large base of industry and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, New Jersey is home to the largest petroleum containment system outside of the Middle East.
New Jersey hosts several business headquarters. Fifty Fortune 500 companies have headquarters in or conduct business from Morris County alone. New Jersey is said to have the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world: nearly one hundred companies on the Fortune 500 list have headquarters or conduct business from New Jersey. Paramus is noted for having one of the highest retail sales per person ratios in the nation. Several New Jersey counties such as Somerset (#7), Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), Monmouth (42) counties have been ranked among the highest-income counties in the United States. Four others are also in the top 100.
New Jersey's major industries are agriculture, tourism, nursery products, electronics, manufacturing equipment, pharmacuticals, etc. This diversity enables New Jersey to weather volatility in the national economy and contributes to New Jersey's low unemployment rate. New Jersey's geographical location between Philadelphia and New York City has helped New Jersey to grow and thrive since the time of its colonial origin in 1702. Another of New Jersey's great strengths is its large and well-educated labor pool that supports the myriad of industries that exist today. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the world's largest container port. Newark Liberty International Airport is ranked seventh among the nation's busiest airports and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.
Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson is one of the largest theme parks in the world. It is home to the largest wild safari outside Africa and is now home to the world's tallest, fastest rollercoaster, Kingda Ka. As of 2001, New Jersey makes $30 billion each year from tourism, as stated in the Star-Ledger article "The Best Of New Jersey". New Jersey is one of the top ten most visited states in the nation.
New Jersey has seven tax brackets for determining income tax rates. The rates range from 1.4 percent to 8.97 percent. The sales tax rate is 7 percent, applicable to all retail sales unless specifically exempt by law. Exemptions include most food items for at-home preparation, medicines, clothing, footwear, and disposable paper products for use in the home. All real property located in the state is subject to property tax unless specifically exempted by statute. New Jersey does not assess an intangible personal property tax, but it does impose an inheritance tax.
Oil Refineries
New Jersey is infamous for its abundance of oil refineries. The smell given off by the refineries is common to motorists who travel the New Jersey Turnpike. This is a list of the major oil refineries in the state:
The Garden State Parkway, or simply "the Parkway", carries more in-state traffic and runs from the town of Montvale along New Jersey's northern border to its southernmost tip at Cape May for 172.4 miles. It is the trunk that connects the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City.
The New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) operates extensive rail and bus service throughout the state. NJ Transit is a state-run corporation that began with the consolidation of several private bus companies in North Jersey. In the early 1980s, it acquired the commuter train operations of Conrail that connect towns in northern and central New Jersey to New York City. NJ Transit has eight lines that run throughout different parts of the state. Most of the trains start at various points in the state and most end at either Pennsylvania Station, in New York City, or Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken. NJ Transit began service between Atlantic City and Lindenwold in 1989 and extended it to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1990s. This is the only mass transit line that is based entirely in South Jersey, and the only one that connects Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
Amtrak also operates numerous long-distance passenger trains in New Jersey to and from neighboring states and around the country. In addition to the Newark Airport connection, other major Amtrak railway stations include Trenton Rail Station, Metropark, and the grand historic Newark Penn Station.
SEPTA also has two lines that operate into New Jersey. The R7 lines terminates at the Trenton Rail Station, and the R3 lines terminates at the West Trenton Rail Station in Ewing.
Some private bus carriers still remain in New Jersey. Most of these carriers operate with state funding to offset losses and state owned buses are provided to these carriers of which Coach USA companies make up the bulk. Other carriers include private charter and tour bus operators that take gamblers from other parts of New Jersey, New York City, Philadelphia, and Delaware to the casino resorts of Atlantic City.
Jon Corzine (Democrat) is the governor. The Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governors in the nation, as it is currently the only state-wide elected office in the state and appoints many government officials. Formerly, an acting governor was even more powerful as he simultaneously served as president of the senate, thus directing the half the legislative and all of the executive process. Richard Codey was the last to serve that way as the result of a constitutional amendment approved by the voters in 2005.
The current version of the New Jersey State Constitution was adopted in 1947. It provides for a bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate of 40 members and an Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected by the people for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four or two year terms. See for the constitution
The New Jersey Supreme Court[12] consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.
On July 1, 2006, at 9:30 am, the government of New Jersey closed down amid a budget dispute between Governor Jon Corzine and Assembly Democrats over a rise in the state's sales tax from 6% to 7% in order to fill a budget gap. The closure immediately shut down most government services, including road construction and the state lottery, and caused a temporary layoff of 45,000 state employees. Governor Corzine announced that state parks, state-run beaches, and casinos in Atlantic City (regulated by the state government's New Jersey Casino Control Commission) would close by the morning of July 5, 2006, if no budget agreement had passed by then, due to the lack of state monitors from NJCCC, which is required to be present at casinos by law. New Jersey law provides for essential services, such as state police and emergency services, to remain running regardless of the lack of a budget. However, all payments would be delayed until the annual appropriation bill was passed.[13] Finally, the Governor and lawmakers reached an agreement to end this government shutdown on July 6, 2006. This agreement includes a hike in New Jersey's current 6% sales tax to 7% which will generate 1.1 billion dollars in revenue; half of this $1.1 billion will be used to lower property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation.[14]
New Jersey is broken up into 21 counties, most of which are vestiges of the colonial area, and the remaining were partitioned from existing counties in the 1800s. New Jersey is the only state in the nation where elected county officials are called "Freeholders," governing each county as part of its own Board of Chosen Freeholders. The number of freeholders in each county is determined by referendum, and cannot exceed nine members.
Depending on the county, the executive and legislative functions may be performed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders or split into separate branches of government. In some counties, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each Freeholder assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In other counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Mercer), there is a directly-elected County Executive who performs the executive functions while the Board of Chosen Freeholders retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an Executive, a County Administrator (or County Manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions.
Municipalities
New Jersey has 566 municipalities; until recently, 567 (Pahaquarry Township was absorbed by Hardwick Township in 1997). Unlike other states, all of its municipalities are incorporated entities with fixed boundaries, and no local government can simply absorb land from another.
Types of government
When the types of government were devised in the nineteenth century, the intention was that cities would be large built-up areas, with progressively smaller boroughs, towns, and villages; the rural areas in between would be relatively large townships. This is still often true, although Shrewsbury Township has been divided over the years; today it is less than a square mile, consisting only of a single housing development. Some townships—notably Middletown, Brick, Hamilton, and Dover (which includes Toms River)—have, without changing their boundaries, become large stretches of suburbia, as populous as cities, often focused around shopping centers and highways rather than traditional downtowns and main streets.
As with Toms River, many locations in New Jersey are simply neighborhoods, with no exact boundaries; often the cluster of houses, the traditional neighborhood, the postal district, and the Census designated place will differ.
The five types of municipality differ mostly in name. Originally, each type had its own form of government but more modern forms are available to any municipality, even though the original type is retained in its formal name. Only boroughs can have the "borough form" of government.
Starting in the 1900s, largely driven by reform-minded goals, a series of six modern forms of government was implemented. This began with the Walsh Act, enacted in 1911, which provided for a 3- or 5-member commission elected on a non-partisan basis. This was followed by the 1923 Municipal Manager Law, which offered a non-partisan council, provided for a weak mayor elected by and from the members of the council, and introduced Council-Manager government with an (ideally apolitical) appointed manager responsible for day-to-day administration of municipal affairs.
The Faulkner Act, originally enacted in 1950 and substantially amended in 1981, offers four basic plans: Mayor-Council, Council-Manager, Small Municipality, and Mayor-Council-Administrator. The act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs and offers great flexibility in allowing municipalities to select the characteristics of its government: the number of seats on the Council; seats selected at-large, by wards, or through a combination of both; staggered or concurrent terms of office; and a mayor chosen by the Council or elected directly by voters. Most large municipalities and a majority of New Jersey's residents are governed by municipalities with Faulkner Act charters.
While municipalities retain their types of government, they may have changed to one of the modern forms of government, or further in the past to one of the other traditional forms, leading to municipalities with formal names quite baffling to the general public. For example, though there are four municipalities with the village type of government, Loch Arbour is the only one remaining with the village form of government. The three other villages—Ridgefield Park (now with a Walsh Act form), Ridgewood (now with a Faulkner Act Council-Manager charter), and most confusingly, South Orange (now the Township of South Orange Village) —have all migrated to other non-village forms.
New Jersey was once a politically competitive state; the governorship alternated between the parties from the election of Richard J. Hughes in 1961 until Democrat Jon Corzine was elected to replace a Democrat in 2005; the legislature has also switched hands, and one house was evenly divided from 1999–2001. Three of the last five gubernatorial elections have been close. The Congressional seats have also been as evenly divided as thirteen seats can be. Currently; the Democrats hold the post of Governor, have majority control of both the houses of state legislature, have both Congressional Senate seats and also most positions in state delegation to House of Representatives.
In national elections, the state leans heavily 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 has given large victories to Democrats since the 1990's. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Clifford P. Case in 1979. (Nicholas F. Brady was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor Thomas Kean in 1982 after Harrison A. Williams resigned the Senate seat following the Abscam investigations.)
The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have backing along the coast in Ocean County and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially Sussex County, Morris County, and Warren County. Somerset County and Hunterdon County, other suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, Bush received about 51% in Somerset and 56% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush won with 64% of the vote.
About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example, Bergen County, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with Passaic County, with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other "swing" counties like Cape May County tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas.
Socially, New Jersey is considered one of the highly liberal and progressive states in the nation. Just like other North-east states, even conservatives and Republicans are moderate and 'walk in the middle of the road'. Polls indicate 2/3rds of the population are self-described as pro-choice and a majority support gay marriage.[15][16]
For its overall population and nation-leading density, New Jersey has a relative paucity of classic large cities. As of the United States 2000 Census, only four municipalities had populations in excess of 100,000. With the 2004 Census estimate, Woodbridge has surpassed Edison in population, as both joined the 100,000 club.
Dover Township: 89,706 (Census Estimate 2004: 94,320) - the Census 2000 total includes the population of Toms River, a census-designated place within Dover Township. Toms River had a 2000 census population of 86,327. Dover Township is not to be confused with the town of Dover, which is in Morris County.
Although some problems exist in certain inner city neighborhoods, New Jersey overall is considered to have one of the best public education systems in the United States. 54% of high school graduates continue on to college or university, which is tied with Massachusetts for the second highest rate in the nation (North Dakota holds first place at 59%). New Jersey also has the highest average scores for advanced placement testing in public schools in the nation. Secretary of Education Rick Rosenberg, appointed by Governor Jon Corzine, has created the Education Advancement Initiative (EAI) to increase College admission rates by 10% for New Jersey's High School students, decrease drop out rates by 15%, and increase the amount of money devoted to schools by 10%. Rosenberg was since forced to retract this plan when publicly criticized for taking the money out of healthcare to fund this initiative.
New Jersey is home to more scientists and engineers than any other state. [1]
The state's four major professional sports teams play at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford. The Devils and Nets play in Continental Airlines Arena, and the Giants and Jets play in Giants Stadium. The Meadowlands and its sports venues are widely considered to be outdated by today's professional sports standards. This led to the Devils announcement that they will be leaving the Meadowlands upon the completion of their new arena in Newark in 2007. The Nets also have plans to leave the Meadowlands for Brooklyn as soon as a new arena for them is completed. The Giants and Jets though announced in 2005 that they will be staying in the Meadowlands, and a new stadium for both teams should be ready by the 2010 season. The new stadium is part of the Xanadu Project taking shape at the sports complex. The Xanadu Project, when completed in 2007, will be the largest retail and entertainment complex in New Jersey.
Diners are common in New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has more diners than any other state: over 600. Due to the state's small size, New Jersey has more diners per square mile than any other state in America and World. [citation needed]
New Jersey has long been an important area for both rock and rap music. Some prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey are:
Frank Sinatra, the only child of working-class Italian-American immigrants, was born December 12, 1915 in a tenement at 415 Monroe St. in Hoboken. He sang with a neighborhood vocal group, the Hoboken Four, and appeared in neighborhood theater amateur shows before he became an entertainment legend as an Academy Award winning actor and one of the most famous male vocalists of all time. Some of his greatest hits include "Strangers In The Night," "My Way," "Luck Be A Lady," and "New York, New York."
Four of five band members of rock group My Chemical Romance hail from New Jersey. The band frequently speak about their home state, and guitarist Frank Iero can be seen on occasion wearing a guitar strap with the letter NJ encircled in a heart.
Bruce Springsteen, who has sung of New Jersey life on most of his albums, hails from Freehold and is the most popular rock musician to ever come out of the state. Some of his songs that represent New Jersey life are "Born To Run", "Spirit In The Night", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Thunder Road", "Atlantic City", and "Jungleland".
Jon Bon Jovi, who hails from Sayreville, reached fame in the 1980's with hard rock outfit Bon Jovi. The band has also written many songs about life in New Jersey including "Livin' On A Prayer" and even named one of his albums after the state (see New Jersey)
Dionne Warwick was born in East Orange and has had a long career, including nearly 60 charted hits, from "Do You Know The Way to San Jose?" (winning the first of her five Grammys), "Alfie," "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," and "That's What Friends Are For." She is a cousin of Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston was born in the city of Newark but grew up in neighboring East Orange. She had a successful solo career in the 1980's and 1990's and is best known for her cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You", which set new records for sales and weeks at number one. Houston has sold well over 180 million records internationally. Her mother is Cissy Houston, winner of two Grammys in her own right.
Legendary jazz pianist and bandleaderCount Basie, was born in Red Bank in 1904. In the 1960s, he collaborated on several albums with fellow New Jersey native Frank Sinatra. There is a theater in Red Bank named in his honor.
Former Fugee Lauryn Hill is a South Orange resident and is hip-hop's best-selling solo female artist. Her 1998 debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, sold 10 million copies internationally.
Irvington's Queen Latifah was the first female rapper to succeed in music, film, and television.
All members of The Sugarhill Gang were born in Englewood. The group wrote the single Rapper's Delight which many credit as the first hip hop single. The terms rap and rapper are originated from this song.
Motion picture technology was invented in New Jersey, by Thomas Edison. The early work was done at his West Orange laboratory. His "Black Maria" was the first motion picture studio.
Daddy Warbucks' mansion from the movie "Annie" was built in 1929 by Hubert Parson, the president of F.W. Woolworth. He called it Shadow Lawn. Now it is Woodrow Wilson Hall, owned by Monmouth University at West Long Branch, NJ.
Although not credited, at least one scene from The Godfather (1972) was filmed in New Jersey. The scene with Clemenza's famous line, "Leave the gun. Take the cannolis," was filmed in the marsh along the Hudson River in Jersey City, just west of the Statue of Liberty, in what is now Liberty State Park.
The 1994 film I.Q., about Albert Einstein's attempt to play matchmaker for his niece, was filmed in Princeton, Lawrenceville, Cranbury, and Rocky Hill.
Brian Keith, Sandra Dee, and Frank Langella were all born in Bayonne.
New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock.
Florida Marlins pitcher Joe Borowski was born in Bayonne, and was the pitcher who gave up Derek Jeter's first career grand slam when he was a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in 2005.
Actor Jack Nicholson grew up on the Jersey shore, and went to Manasquan High School in Monmouth County. The school's auditorium is named after him.
Although supposedly set in New York, the 2003 movie School of Rock was filmed primarily in Edison and Mahwah, perhaps due to the significance these towns have on rock music.
Although dealing Newark's notorious car thieves, the 1995 film New Jersey Drive[3] was shot in East Orange and Elizabeth, as well as Brooklyn and Queens, New York.
Actor and comedian Joe Piscopo was born in Passaic. In 1985, he released a comedy album entitled "New Jersey." The cover art parodied the common (and erroneous) perception of New Jersey as nothing but freeways and factories. The following year he starred in an HBO comedy special entitled The Joe Piscopo New Jersey Special. In 2004, Piscopo announced that he was considering a run for the governor's office.[17]
Bruce Willis grew up in Penns Grove and graduated from Penns Grove High School. He returns to the borough occasionally to visit family.
Tom Cruise went to high school and lived his teen years in Glen Ridge and briefly attended elementary school at Packanack School in the Packanack Lake section of Wayne.
The medical drama House is set in New Jersey and takes place at the fictional Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Overhead images of the building are actually the Frist Campus Center at Princeton University.
In his comedy special What Am I Doing in New Jersey?, George Carlin comments that he believes New Jersey deserves the title "Toll Booth Capital of the United States of America." He also suggests changing the state nickname from "The Garden State" to "The Toll Booth State."
The NBC show Ed was based in the fictional town of Stuckeyville, Ohio, but filmed in various locations in New Jersey. Stuckeybowl, one of the main settings of the show and where they also had numerous sets, was located in Northvale, New Jersey before it was demolished in 2006.
Legends and ghosts
File:Nj devil notgreyscale.PNGIllustration of the Jersey Devil, drawn from a description by Nelson Evans in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, 1909
Camp NoBeBoSco in Blairstown was the location of the original Friday the 13th movie (some believe the series of films to be set in New Jersey, although this is never confirmed onscreen), which was partially based on real murders that have occurred near the campground, in the state's rural northwest. Such horror stories were the inspiration behind the now nationally famous Weird NJ magazine and website.
References
^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.)
^Gerdes, Louise I. The 1930s, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000.
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