New Jersey

Examples of New Jersey in the following topics:

• New Jersey

  • King James II granted the land between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers to two friends and named it New Jersey after the island of Jersey.
  • The Dutch claimed New Jersey first.
  • The governors of New York then ruled New Jersey, which infuriated the settlers of New Jersey.
  • In 1738, King George II appointed a separate governor for New Jersey.
  • Bowen Map of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and New England; ca. 1747

• The Forage War

  • The Forage War consisted of numerous small skirmishes between British and Continental forces that took place in New Jersey in early 1777.
  • The Forage War was a partisan campaign consisting of numerous small skirmishes that took place in New Jersey in early 1777, following the battles of Trenton and Princeton.
  • A large number of militia from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania bolstered these forces.
  • Northern and coastal New Jersey continued to be the site of skirmishing and raiding by the British forces that occupied New York City for the rest of the war.

• Settling the Middle Colonies

  • The Middle Colonies later became the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
  • This land grant became the Province of New Jersey.
  • From 1701 to 1765, colonists skirmished in the New York-New Jersey Line War over disputed colonial boundaries.
  • In 1702, Queen Anne united West and East Jersey into one Royal Colony, the Province of New Jersey.
  • The Middle Colonies comprised of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania.

• Washington's Escape from New York

  • Although Howe was successful in driving Washington out of New York City, he was unsuccessful in taking New Jersey.
  • The defeats convinced General Howe to withdraw most of his army from New Jersey, only leaving outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy.
  • The areas around New York City in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were an ongoing battleground for the rest of the war.
  • Map of the New York-New Jersey Campaign during the American Revolution.
  • Map of the New York-New Jersey Campaign during the American Revolution.

• Quebec, New York, and New Jersey

  • In the early stages of the American Revolution, battles over Quebec, New York, and New Jersey played an important role in the war.
  • The British lost more than a quarter of their forces in the battle and convinced General Howe to withdraw most of his army from New Jersey, with only outposts at New Brunswick and Perth Amboy remaining.
  • After both British and Continental Army troops entered their winter quarters in early January, Continental Army forces from New Jersey and Pennsylvania engaged in numerous scouting and harassing operations against British and German troops quartered in New Jersey.
  • The Continental Army was bolstered during these skirmishes by a large number of militia from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
  • Northern and coastal New Jersey continued to be the site of skirmishing and raiding by the British forces that occupied New York City for the duration of the war.

• From New Netherland to New York

  • The Dutch colony of New Netherland was taken by the British in the 17th century and later became the colonies of New York and New Jersey.
  • The two proprietors of New Jersey attempted to augment their colony's population by granting sections of lands to settlers and by passing a document granting religious freedom to all inhabitants of New Jersey.
  • After one of the proprietors sold part of the area to the Quakers, New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey, two distinct provinces of the proprietary colony.
  • The governors of New York then ruled New Jersey, which infuriated the settlers of New Jersey, who accused the governor of showing favoritism to New York.
  • In 1738, King George II appointed a separate governor for New Jersey.

• The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

  • The New Jersey Plan was a counter-proposal for the structure of the federal government presented by William Paterson.
  • The New Jersey plan was created in response to the Virginia Plan, which called for two houses of Congress both elected with apportionment according to population.
  • The New Jersey Plan, on the other hand, proposed a unicameral legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation.
  • Ultimately, the Virginia Plan was used, but some ideas from the New Jersey Plan were added.
  • House of Representatives, apportioned by population as desired by the Virginia Plan, and the Senate, granted equal votes per state as desired by the New Jersey Plan.

• The Demographics of the Middle Colonies

  • The Middle Colonies tended to mix aspects of the New England and Southern Colonies.
  • Indentured servitude was especially common in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York in the 18th century, though few such servants worked in agriculture.
  • Munsee inhabited the Highlands, Hudson Valley, and northern New Jersey, while Minquas, also known as the Susquehannocks, lived west of the Zuyd Rivier along and beyond the Susquehanna River.
  • New Jersey and Delaware had a majority British population as well, with 7-11% German-descended colonists, about a 6% African population, and a small contingent of Swedish descendants.
  • In an early attempt to encourage European settlement, the New Jersey legislature enacted a prohibitive tariff against imported slaves and in favor of European indentured servitude.

• State Constitutions

  • Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey created their constitutions before July 4.
  • In states where the less-affluent had organized sufficiently to acquire significant power—especially Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire—the resulting constitutions often contained:
  • Universal white male suffrage, or minimal property requirements for voting or holding office (New Jersey enfranchised some property-owning widows, a step it retracted 25 years later)
  • The Declaration of Rights and Plan of Government for the State of New Hampshire.
  • New Hampshire was the first state to create a new constitution, in 1776, at the urging of the Continental Congress.

• An Emerging Colonial System

  • The colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
  • The Dominion of New England was created in 1685 by a decree from King James II that consolidated Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Province of New York, East Jersey, and West Jersey into a single larger colony.
  • New Haven was settled in late 1637.
  • New Jersey was divided into East Jersey and West Jersey in 1674.
  • The Jerseys were reunited in 1702.