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New Jersey
State
Map
CountryUnited States
Admitted to the UnionDecember 18, 1787 (3rd)
CapitalTrenton
Largest cityNewark
Government
 • GovernorRichard Codey
 • Upper house{{{Upperhouse}}}
 • Lower house{{{Lowerhouse}}}
U.S. senators{{{Senators}}}
Population
 • Total
8,414,350
 • Density1,130/sq mi (438/km2)
Language
 • Official languageNone defined
Latitude38°55'N to 41°21'23"N
Longitude73°53'39"W to 75°35'W

New Jersey is a state of the United States of America and has the U.S. postal abbreviation of NJ. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

The USS New Jersey, one of the most decorated vessels in the United States Navy, was named in honor of this state.

History

Once inhabited by the tribes of the Lenape, the first Europeans to settle the region were the Dutch in the early 1600's, who formed a settlement at present-day Jersey City. At the time, much of what is now New Jersey was claimed as part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, which also included parts of present-day New York State and had its capital at New Amsterdam, now known as New York City. Some of southwestern New Jersey was also settled by the Swedes in the mid-1600's as part of the Swedish colony of New Sweden, which included parts of Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. These territories were taken by the Dutch in 1655 and incorporated into New Netherland.

The entire region became a territory of Britain 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. They met minimal resistance, perhaps because of the unpopularity of the Dutch colonial governor, Peter Stuyvesant. The newly taken lands were divided by King Charles II of England, who gave 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). James then 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 through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley.

Settlement for the first ten 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 New Jersey 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.

Revolutionary War Era

New Jersey was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

During the War for Independence, British and American armies crossed New Jersey several times. On January 3, 1777, the American forces led by George Washington scored an important victory over British forces led by Charles Cornwallis in the Battle of Princeton.

In the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall at Princeton University, making Princeton the country's capital for four months.

It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the war.

On November 20, 1789 the state became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights.

Ironically, on February 15, 1804 New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery. It was also the first state to allow women the right to vote.

After the war, in the 1790s, when the United States was first founded and Washington, D.C. was being built, Princeton University's Nassau Hall served as a temporary capital for the fledgling republic.

Modern American History

New Jersey suffered heavy casualties in the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. Of the 3,000 people who died in September 11, 2001, over 650 were commuters and air travelers (United Airlines Flight 93 took off from Newark Airport in New Jersey). This meant the state lost more people in the attacks than any other state except New York.

Law and government

See: List of Governors of New Jersey; New Jersey Legislature

The capital of New Jersey is Trenton. The governor of New Jersey is Richard Codey (Democrat), who took over as acting governor based on his role as State Senate President upon James E. McGreevey's resignation on November 15, 2004. The state's two U.S. senators are Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat) and Jon Corzine (Democrat). New Jersey has 13 Congressional Districts.

Politically, New Jersey, like the rest of the Northeastern United States, leans toward the Democratic Party. It was, however, a Republican stronghold, having gaven comfortable margains of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of 1948, 1968 and 1976. The state was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968 and 1992. Recently, however, the state has given large victories to Democrats. No Republican has held a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey for over 20 years.

The state's left leaning strongholds include Mercer County around the cities of Trenton and Princeton, and Union County and Hudson County around the state's two largest cities Newark and Jersey City, as well as in Camden County, and in most of the suburbian communties of Philadelphia and New York City

Republicans have strong backing along the coast in Ocean County and in the Northwestern part of the state, especially Sussex County and Morris County.

The key swing counties in the state are Bergen County, Passaic County, Monmouth County and Cape May County.

New Jersey's current constitution [1] 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, 5, and 9 and thus serve either four or two year terms.

The New Jersey Supreme Court [2] 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.

Geography

See: List of New Jersey counties.
New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions: they are North Jersey, Central Jersey, and South Jersey. North Jersey is within New York City's general sphere of influence, with many of its residents commuting into the city for work. Central Jersey is a largely suburban area, while South Jersey is within Philadelphia's general sphere of influence. Such geographic definitions are broad, however, and there is often dispute over where one region begins and another ends.

High Point in Sussex County is the highest elevation in the state.

New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by New York, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania (the latter two across the Delaware River.) Prominent geographic features include:

Economy

New Jersey's 1999 total state gross product was $332 billion, placing it 8th in the nation. Its 2002 per capita personal income was $39,453, the second highest in the nation. [3]

Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular, cranberries and eggplants are two of the state's largest crops. 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. Although the state is certainly not defined by these activities, their existence and visibility to those passing through the state along some of its major highways does contribute to many jokes about pollution and ironic plays on the state's nickname, the "Garden State."

Demographics

According to the Census Bureau, as of 2003, the population of New Jersey was 8,638,396.

The racial makeup of the state is:

The 5 largest ancestry groups in New Jersey are Italian (17.8%), Irish (15.9%), African American (13.6%), German (12.6%), Polish (6.9%).

Newark and Camden are two of the poorest cities in America, but New Jersey as a whole has the highest average household income in the nation. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation.

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 the citizens of New Jersey are:

  • Roman Catholic – 46%
  • Protestant – 37%
  • Other Christian – 2%
  • Other Religions – 5%
  • Non-Religious – 6%

The largest Protestant denominations in New Jersey are: Baptist (10% of the total state population), Methodist (7%), and Presbyterian and Lutheran (tied 3%).

Culture

Musician Bruce Springsteen has sung of New Jersey life in many of his most popular songs, including "Atlantic City," "Freehold," "Jersey Girl" (written by Tom Waits), "Jungleland," "Spirit in the Night" and others. Fellow musician Jon Bon Jovi has also written many songs about New Jersey and even named one of his albums after it.

Motion pictures and televisions shows also have been set in New Jersey. The popular television drama "The Sopranos" depicts the life of a New Jersey organized crime family and is filmed on location at various places thoughout the state.

Many believe in a creature called the Jersey Devil, an evil demon born to a human mother who terrorizes the population of the Pine Barrens. It is also known sometimes as the Leeds Devil. New Jersey is also home to several other urban legends, such as the ghost of Annie's Road in Totowa, Migdetville in Edgewater, Albino Village in Clifton, and the haunted and demon-possessed Clinton Road in West Milford. A well-known New Jersey campground was also the setting of the original Friday the 13th movie, which was partially based on real murders that have occurred near the campground, in the state's very rural northwest. Such horror stories were the inspiration behind the now nationally-famous WeirdNJ magazine and website.

The properties in the United States version of the board game Monopoly are named after the streets of Atlantic City.

Transportation

The New Jersey Turnpike is one of the best-known roadways in New Jersey. This toll road carries interstate traffic between Delaware and New York. Commonly referred to as simply "the Turnpike," it is also known for its numerous rest-areas named after prominent New Jerseyans as varied as inventor Thomas Edison; United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton; U.S. President Grover Cleveland; writers James Fenimore Cooper, Joyce Kilmer, and Walt Whitman; patriot Molly Pitcher; Red Cross advocate Clara Barton, and football coach Vince Lombardi.

The Garden State Parkway, or just "the Parkway," carries more in-state traffic, and runs from the town of Montvale along New Jersey's northern border with New York to the southernmost tip of the state at Cape May. It is somewhat true that some New Jersey residents who live near the Parkway or the Turnpike locate their hometowns according to their respective highway exits, though very few New Jerseyites living anyhere else in the state will do so. It also acts as the trunk that connects the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City.

Other freeways in New Jersey include the Atlantic City Expressway, Palisades Interstate Parkway, Interstate 76, Interstate 78, and Interstate 80.

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. In 1989, NJ Transit began service between Atlantic City and Lindenwold, extending it to Philadelphia in the 1990s.

New Jersey has interstate compacts with all three neighboring states. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Delaware River Port Authority (with Pennsylvania), and the Delaware River and Bay Authority (with Delaware) operate most of the major transportation routes into and out of New Jersey. Tolls for the bridges are charged in one direction - it's free to get into New Jersey, but you have to pay to get out. The Scudders Falls bridge on I-95 near Trenton is still free as of this writing.

See also: List of New Jersey State Highways

Map of New Jersey showing major roads and cities

Important cities and towns

Major cities (and their populations):

see also: List of Municipalities in New Jersey (by population)

Education

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. In addition, 54% of high school graduates continue on to college or university, tied with Massachusetts for the second highest rate in the nation (North Dakota holds first place at 59%[4]).

Colleges and universities

Institution Name, Location

In addition to the above institutions, there are 19 community colleges, serving the 21 counties in the state.

Institution Name, Location

Professional sports teams

Miscellaneous Information

 United States

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