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History of New Jersey

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American History

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                                                                History of
                                                                New Jersey

                                 Colonial period

                                                       American Revolution

                                                        Nineteenth Century

                                                         Twentieth Century

                                                      Twenty-first Century


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   The written history of New Jersey began with the exploration of the
   Jersey Coast by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, though the region had
   been settled for millennia by Native Americans. At the time of European
   contact, the area was populated by tribes of Lenape. The New Jersey
   region soon came under the control of the Swedes and the Dutch
   resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch were victorious. However,
   the Dutch colony of New Netherland was seized by the English in 1664.
   New Jersey was one of the original 13 colonies that joined the American
   Revolutionary War in 1776. It signed the Articles of Confederation in
   1779 with Princeton acting as the nation's capital for four months in
   1783. New Jersey became independent after the American Revolutionary
   War, in which several crucial battles were fought in New Jersey
   resulting in American victories. In 1787, New Jersey was the third
   state to ratify the newly drafted United States Constitution.

   In the nineteenth century, New Jersey cities led the nation into the
   Industrial Revolution and provided soldiers for many of the wars the
   United States fought, including 88,000 soldiers for the American Civil
   War. The state became a component of the Underground Railroad. The
   state's transportation system continued to improve with the
   construction of canals and more rail lines that helped
   industrialization further develop. During the early 1900s, New Jersey
   prospered but weakened in the Great Depression in the 1930s. During
   World War II and the Cold War New Jersey's shipyards and military bases
   played an important role in the defense of the United States. In the
   1960s New Jersey was the site of several race riots and of the
   Glassboro Summit Conference, between American President Lyndon Johnson
   and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin.

Prehistory

   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
   period, Pangaea broke apart into Laurasia and Gondwana, and 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.

   New Jersey was first settled by a Native American group known as the
   Lenni-Lenape, but called the Delaware Indians by European settlers. The
   Lenape were loosely organized groups that practiced small-scale
   agriculture (mainly based on corn) 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.
   They first encountered the Dutch in the early 1600s, and their primary
   relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade.

Colonial history

   In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing in the service of France,
   explored the Jersey Coast. New Jersey's Cape May was discovered in 1609
   by Sir Henry Hudson in the service of the Dutch East India Company.
   Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a Dutch explorer, also explored the New
   Jersey and Delaware Bay area. Cape May was named after Mey, as were the
   town and county of the same name.

New Netherland

   Much of New Jersey was claimed 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. 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 first settlement on land that
   was to become modern New Jersey was at Pavonia (now Jersey City) in
   1629. The last Dutch governor was Peter Stuyvesant, who was unpopular
   with his subjects 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.
   Stuyvesant used military coercion in order to accomplish some of his
   goals, which only made him more disliked. At New Netherland's height,
   6,000 inhabitants resided in the colony.

New Sweden

   In addition, part of southwestern New Jersey was settled by the Swedes
   by the mid-1600s. New Sweden, founded in 1638, rose to its height under
   governor Johan Björnsson Printz (1643-1653). Led by 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, near
   present-day Salem on the east side of the Delaware. This action
   prevented the river from being easily taken by the English and Dutch,
   who were also trying to expand into the New World. The Swedish and
   Finnish colonists generally lived in peace with their Dutch and Lenape
   neighbors. Under the last governor of New Sweden, Johan Rising, the
   Swedes captured Fort Casimir (now New Castle, Delaware), which was
   close to Fort Christina and later named Fort Trinity by the Swedes.

   This action provoked a furious Governor Stuyvesant, who, in revenge,
   sent seven armed Dutch ships and 317 soldiers to the Delaware River the
   next summer. Realizing it was hopeless, the outnumbered Swedes
   surrendered Fort Trinity, and surrendered Fort Christina two weeks
   later. In 1655, the Dutch completely took over these lands and annexed
   them to New Netherland.

Province

   From the colony of New Netherland, the Dutch interfered with Britain's
   transatlantic trade with its North American colonies. 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,
   who ordered Colonel Richard Nicolls to take over the area. In September
   1664, a British fleet under Nicolls' command sailed into what is now
   New York Harbour and seized the colony. The British encountered little
   resistance, perhaps due to the unpopularity of the Dutch governor,
   Peter Stuyvesant. After capturing the colony, Nicolls became
   deputy-governor of New Amsterdam and the rest of New Netherland, and
   guaranteed colonists' property rights, laws of inheritance, and the
   enjoyment of religious freedom. New Netherland was renamed New Jersey
   (after the English Channel Island of Jersey on which Charles II of
   England was proclaimed king in 1649) and New Amsterdam was renamed New
   York (after the Duke of York).
   The original provinces of West and East New Jersey are shown in yellow
   and green respectively. The Keith Line is shown in red, and the Coxe
   and Barclay line is shown in orange
   Enlarge
   The original provinces of West and East New Jersey are shown in yellow
   and green respectively. The Keith Line is shown in red, and the Coxe
   and Barclay line is shown in orange

   Charles II gave the region between New England and Maryland to his
   brother, the Duke of York (later King James II), as a proprietary
   colony. Later James granted the land between the Hudson River and the
   Delaware River 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 tried to
   entice more settlers to New Jersey by granting land to settlers and by
   passing Concession and Agreement, a document granting religious freedom
   to all inhabitants of New Jersey; the British Church of England allowed
   no such religious freedom. In return for land, settlers paid annual
   fees known as quitrents. The proprietors appointed Philip Carteret as
   the first governor of New Jersey, who designated Elizabethtown as the
   colony's capital. However, the two proprietors found collecting the
   quitrents difficult, and on March 18, 1673 Berkeley sold his share of
   New Jersey to the Quakers.

   This sale divided the province into East Jersey and West Jersey. The
   exact border between West and East Jersey generally corresponded to the
   border between present day South and North Jersey and was created by
   George Keith. However, the line was constantly the subject of disputes.
   With the 1676 Quintipartite Deed more accurate surveys and maps were
   made resulting in the Thornton line, drawn around 1696, and the
   Lawrence line, drawn around 1743, which was adopted as the final line
   for legal purposes.

   Many of the colonists of New Jersey became farmers. However, despite
   the fertility of the soil, farmers were forced to struggle due to the
   dearth of English money. Some owned slaves or had indentured servants
   work for them. The majority of the colonists lived in simple log
   cabins, coming from the original Dutch settlers. Since New Jersey was
   ideally located next to the Atlantic Ocean, colonists farmed, fished,
   and traded by sea. Transportation was slow and difficult usually on
   either foot or horseback. Education came through small religious
   schools, private academies, or tutors.

   On April 15, 1702, under the reign of Queen Anne, West and East Jersey
   were reunited as a royal colony. Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury became the
   first governor of the colony as a royal colony. Lord Cornbury was an
   ineffective and corrupt ruler, taking bribes and speculating on land,
   so in 1708 he was recalled to England. New Jersey was then ruled by the
   governors of New York, but this infuriated the settlers of New Jersey,
   who accused 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. From 1701 to 1765, New Jersey's border with
   New York was in dispute, resulting in a series of skirmishes and raids.

   In 1746 The College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) was
   founded in Elizabethtown by a group of Great Awakening "New Lighters"
   that included Jonathan Dickinson, Aaron Burr, Sr. and Peter Van Brugh
   Livingston. In 1756 the school moved to Princeton.

American Revolution

   New Jersey was one of the original thirteen colonies that joined in the
   struggle for independence from Great Britain. Many of the New Jersey
   settlers still felt ties of loyalty to the British crown, and many
   slaves sided with the British in exchange for freedom. The loyalists
   included the governor of New Jersey, William Franklin.

   On July 2, 1776, the first Constitution of New Jersey was drafted,
   creating a basic framework for the state government. The New Jersey
   Constitution of 1776 allowed "all inhabitants of this Colony, of full
   age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money" to vote, including
   nonwhites and widows; married women could not own property under the
   common law. The Constitution declared itself temporary and to be void
   if there was reconciliation with Great Britain. Both political parties
   in elections mocked the other for relying on "petticoat electors" for
   allowing women to vote. Only two days after the new constitution was
   enacted, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was endorsed
   by five representatives from New Jersey.

   New Jersey is referred to as the "Crossroads of the Revolution" because
   the British and Continental armies fought several crucial battles
   there. Throughout the war 296 engagements occurred in New Jersey, more
   than in any other colony. Four major battles were fought at Trenton,
   Princeton, Monmouth, and Springfield. The Battles of Trenton and
   Princeton are collectively referred to as the Ten Crucial Days because
   these desperately needed victories bolstered the morale of the nation.
   Washington Crossing the Delaware
   Enlarge
   Washington Crossing the Delaware

   On Christmas night of 1776, the Continental Army, commanded by General
   George Washington, made the famous crossing of the Delaware River. The
   scene was immortalized in Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's painting Washington
   Crossing the Delaware, and displayed on the New Jersey State Quarter.
   In the Battle of Trenton which followed the crossing, the American
   soldiers surprised the Hessians, capturing nearly 900 prisoners in 90
   minutes and taking supplies that had been for the British army. After
   the victory, George Washington led the army back across the Delaware
   River into Pennsylvania.

   A few days later, British General Charles Cornwallis hoped to engage
   Washington's army at Trenton after Washington recrossed the Delaware
   River, resulting in the Second Battle of Trenton. After recapturing
   Trenton, he ordered charges on fortified defenses at Assunpink Creek.
   The Americans inflicted heavy casualties on the British from their
   defenses. Later, the Continental army slipped past Cornwallis’s stalled
   army and launched an attack on British soldiers stationed at Princeton
   in the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. The British at Princeton
   were forced to surrender. Cornwallis immediately ordered his army to
   engage the Americans at Princeton, but was prevented by snipers. These
   victories forced the British to leave New Jersey.
   Molly Pitcher taking over her husband's position at a cannon
   Enlarge
   Molly Pitcher taking over her husband's position at a cannon

   In June 28, 1778, the Continental Army under George Washington met a
   British column under Sir Henry Clinton at the Battle of Monmouth.
   Washington hoped to surprise and overwhelm the rear of the British
   army. General Charles Lee led the American attack on the British rear
   but retreated prematurely when the British attempted to flank the
   Americans. The retreat nearly led to disorder, but Washington managed
   to rally the troops to withstand two British counterattacks, both of
   which failed. As temperatures increased to over 100^o Fahrenheit, many
   soldiers fell to sunstroke. After the battle, Charles Lee was
   court-martialed for his poor command. Over 1,000 British casualties
   were incurred while the Americans lost 452 men. It was during this
   battle that the legendary " Molly Pitcher" is said to have fought.

   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 invade New Jersey and expected support from colonists of New
   Jersey who were tired of the war. He hoped to secure Hobart Gap, from
   which he could attack the American headquarters 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, preventing the British
   invasion.

   New Jersey ratified and then signed the Articles of Confederation on
   November 26, 1779. 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. Princeton became the temporary capital for the
   nation for 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. On December 18, 1787, New
   Jersey became the third state to ratify the Constitution, and on
   November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state in the Nation to
   ratify the Bill of Rights.

   New Jersey played a major role in creating the structure of the new
   United States Government. When Virginia delegates proposed a plan
   calling for representation based on 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 Paterson, 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. The Great Compromise accepted both plans, creating
   two separate bodies in the Congress.

Nineteenth century

Industrial Revolution

   The economy of New Jersey was largely based on agriculture, but crop
   failures and poor soil plagued the settlers of New Jersey. However, New
   Jersey eventually funded publications in the early 1850s of accurate
   agriculture-related surveys through the effort of George H. Cook. The
   publication of this survey helped to increase the state’s involvement
   in agricultural research and direct support to farmers. As agriculture
   became a less reliable source of income for New Jerseyans, many began
   turning towards more industrialized methods.
   The Great Falls of the Passaic River
   Enlarge
   The Great Falls of the Passaic River

   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. Because of its high silk
   production, it became nicknamed the "Silk City". In 1835, Samuel Colt
   began producing firearms in the city.

   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 all women and men of other races. 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.

   The famous inventor Thomas Edison was born in 1847. Edison worked in
   Menlo Park, and was known as "the Wizard of Menlo Park" for his many
   inventions; over the course of his life, he was granted 1,093 patents.
   His most famous inventions included the phonograph, the kinetoscope,
   the stock ticker, the Dictaphone and the tattoo gun. He also is
   credited with improving the designs of the incandescent light bulb,
   radio, the telegraph, 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", as his efforts consisted of
   research and testing.

   The agricultural products from New Jersey usually were transported to
   larger markets in New York City and Philadelphia, requiring better
   transportation. The first oceangoing steamboat went from Hoboken, New
   Jersey, around the southern New Jersey, and ended in Philadelphia.
   Later, systems of canals were also built, the first of which is called
   the Morris Canal and ran from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on the Delaware
   River to Jersey City, New Jersey, on the Hudson River. The Delaware and
   Raritan canal ran from New Brunswick, New Jersey, on the Raritan River,
   and ends at Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delware River. Locomotion
   was also improved; Hoboken-born inventor John Stevens built a 10-ton
   locomotive and his son started constructing iron railroads. By 1833,
   The Camden & Amboy Railroad had been completed, allowing a 7-hour
   passage between Philadelphia and New York City. Through the 1800s, over
   a dozen companies were operating railroad lines.

War and slavery

   During the Mexican-American War, a battalion of volunteers from New
   Jersey, in four companies, was active from the September of 1847 to the
   July of 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.
   George B. McClellan
   Enlarge
   George B. McClellan

   The Quaker population was especially intolerant of slavery, and the
   state was a major part of the Underground Railroad. Though New Jersey
   passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, it was not
   until 1830 that most blacks were free in the state. New Jersey was the
   last northern state to abolish slavery completely, and 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 Amendment banning slavery.

   Although no Civil War battles were fought within New Jersey, the state
   sent over 88,000 soldiers as part of some 31 infantry and cavalry
   regiments, and over 6,000 died in the war. 23,116 of those soldiers
   served in the Army of the Potomac. Soldiers from New Jersey fought
   generally in the War's Eastern theatre. 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 favour Stephen Douglas over
   Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential Election of 1860. The people of New
   Jersey also cast its electoral votes to George B. McClellan when he ran
   for President against Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864, being
   the only free state that rejected Lincoln twice. McClellan was later
   elected governor, serving from 1878 to 1881.

   Many industrial cities like Paterson and Camden 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 heavy production even after the end of the war.

Twentieth century

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 centre of shipbuilding and manufacturing during World
   War I. Existing factories such as the Singer Company in Elizabeth, New
   Jersey were converted to making weapon parts. New refineries and
   ammunition factories were built by companies like DuPont Engineering.
   After the war, many of these companies and plants shifted to chemicals,
   making New Jersey one of the world's leading chemical producers.
   Several Allied ships were sunk off the New Jersey coast.

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

Roaring Twenties

   Like much of the rest of the United States, New Jersey entered a
   prosperous state through the 1920s. Through this period, New Jersey's
   population and employment rate increased greatly. Though factory
   production decreased after the end of World War I, production lines
   still remained in relatively high production.

   Transportation became much easier through the 1920s. Cars became easily
   affordable and roads were paved and improved such that they
   incorporated new road features, including jughandle turns. As a result,
   people who had never been farther than the outskirts of their hometown
   now could travel around the state. The Jersey Shore became extremely
   popular as an attraction. Many bridges and tunnels were built for the
   ease of interstate traveling. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge was
   completed linking Camden and Philadelphia 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 the Hudson River. Later on, the
   George Washington Bridge (1931) and the Lincoln Tunnel (1937) were
   completed, making access to Manhattan even easier. All of the tunnels
   and bridges linking New York and New Jersey are managed by the Port
   Authority of New York and New Jersey, established on April 30, 1921.

   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 December of 1933. Newark's breweries reopened
   almost immediately.

Great Depression era

   Like the rest of the United States, the people of New Jersey were hit
   hard by the Great Depression. By 1933, one-tenth of the population was
   dependent upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. In fact, New Jersey
   issued begging licenses to the poor people because the New Jersey
   government funds 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, including 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.

   In 1938, Orson Welles produced The War of the Worlds radio broadcast
   from New Jersey. Listeners were told that a "huge, flaming object...
   fell on a farm in the neighbourhood of Grover’s Mill... twenty-two
   miles from Trenton." It described extraterrestrial monsters that were
   causing much destruction. Although it was announced in advance that it
   was a radio play, the broadcast resulted in widespread panic into New
   Jersey and the surrounding areas. Many people had believed the bulletin
   to be real, causing them to flee the New Jersey area or to blockade
   their homes to ensure safety from the reported monsters. 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.

   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 in the Lindbergh kidnapping. The police
   sealed off many roads to prevent the kidnapper's escape, and
   interrogated the members of the Lindbergh household. Federal expert
   Arthur Koehler carefully examined the ladder used by the kidnapper,
   which he traced to a company in McCormick, South Carolina. James J.
   Finn was a lieutenant who attempted to capture the kidnapper while he
   was passing off ransom bills. 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. The Lindbergh kidnapping led to
   passage of the Federal Kidnapping Act, also known as the "Lindbergh
   Law", which made kidnapping a federal crime.
   The Hindenburg just moments after catching fire.
   Enlarge
   The Hindenburg just moments after catching fire.

   In 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg exploded over Manchester, New
   Jersey. While approaching a mooring mast in Manchester, the zeppelin
   suddenly caught fire, and within 34 seconds the entire hydrogen-filled
   zeppelin was engulfed in flames; 36 people died in the disaster, most
   of them leaping from the burning ship. Contrary to popular belief, the
   Hindenburg had flown an entire year of successful voyages before it
   caught on fire. Questions and controversy surround the accident to this
   day: theories for the sudden burst of flames include sabotage against
   the German Nazis, static buildup, and flammable fabric.

World War II and the 1940s

   New Jersey shipyards were responsible for the construction of many
   naval ships in World War II, including battleships, aircraft carriers,
   heavy cruisers and destroyers, receiving 9% of all allied war-related
   contracts through the war. Nearly 500,000 residents enlisted for the
   war, more than 10% of the total population of New Jersey at the time,
   causing many women to take jobs in their husbands’ absences. A German
   U-boat (U-689) was sunk off the coast of New Jersey in 1945.

   Camp Kilmer was a staging area near New Brunswick serving the port of
   New York. 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 was later reactivated for the
   Korean War and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Fort Dix was reopened for
   the training of soldiers for the war effort. During the war, Naval
   Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County was opened for naval
   production, which provided ships with a safe port to take on
   ammunition.

   Millville Airport opened 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 was also opened in
   Sandy Hook. Gunners in the fort prevented German submarines from
   entering New York Harbour. The airfield, currently known as McGuire Air
   Force Base, was opened in 1937 as Rudd Field, a supporting Army
   airfield for Fort Dix. It was expanded during wartime operations and
   turned over to the Air Force in 1949.

   An internment camp housing people of Japanese, German, and Italian
   descent was located in Gloucester City. In addition, Seabrook Farms
   took advantage of Japanese labor to increase productivity when the
   government allowed small groups of people from the internment camps to
   work there. At the end of World War II, the government closed down the
   internment camps, but many people from the camps continued to work at
   Seabrook Farms.

   In 1947, the current New Jersey State Constitution was ratified,
   reorganizing the state government. Governors were allowed to serve four
   years instead of three, and the Legislature was constituted with a
   40-member Senate and an 80-member General Assembly. The new State
   Constitution also returned the right of suffrage to females and
   non-whites.

Late twentieth century

   In the 1950s, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey planned and
   built the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in the cities of Newark
   and Elizabeth. This was the first port in the world to containerize due
   to the innovation of Malcolm McLean and the founding of the Sea-Land
   Corporation. The newly opened port quickly made the docks of Brooklyn,
   Lower Manhattan and Hoboken obsolete. In 1985, the port was the busiest
   in the world. (See Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal).

   During the 1960s, many African Americans felt disenfranchised, feelings
   exacerbated by the police that usually sided against African Americans
   and by the poor urban conditions caused by urban decay. This tension
   led to race riots, the first of which occurred in Jersey City on August
   2, 1964, causing heavy damage to the Jersey City area. 71 stores were
   damaged and 46 people were injured. From August 11 to August 13, 1964,
   similar riots occurred in Paterson and Elizabeth. In the Paterson riot,
   twenty stores and other buildings were damaged, and eight people were
   injured. In the Elizabeth riot, six people were injured and seventeen
   stores were damaged. In the aftermath of these riots, 135 people were
   arrested.

   In the summer of 1967, urban residents, primarily African Americans,
   rioted for 5 days in Newark and the neighboring city of Plainfield in
   the 1967 Newark riots. 24 people died in the riots, and nearly 1,600
   were arrested. The riots are often cited as a major factor in the
   decline of Newark and its neighboring communities, as many residents
   fled to the suburbs following the riots.
   Lyndon Johnson meets Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro
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   Lyndon Johnson meets Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro

   In the middle of the Cold War from June 23 to June 25, 1967, president
   Lyndon Johnson met with Soviet premier Aleksei Kosygin in Glassboro,
   New Jersey for the Glassboro Summit Conference. at the Glassboro State
   College. No specific agreements were reached, especially in the area of
   restrictions on anti-ballistic missile systems. However, the meeting
   helped improve the strained relationships between the Soviet Union and
   the US.

   Because of its strategic location on the East Coast, New Jersey played
   an important role in the United States' Cold War defense. 14 Nike
   anti-aircraft missile batteries in two groups were constructed in New
   Jersey to protect the metropolitan areas around Philadelphia and New
   York City. In addition, a regional command centre was built in New
   Jersey. By 1974, the missile sites were deactivated. 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 to defend against an attack by
   long range, nuclear-armed aircraft of the Soviet Air Force.

   In 1998, the south side of Ellis Island came under the jurisdiction of
   New Jersey following a US Supreme Court decision. Before, the island
   had been governed by the state of New York. However, after the court
   decision, disagreements between New Jersey and New York led to the
   sharing of jurisdiction over the island by the two states.

Twenty-first century

Terrorist attacks

   In the morning of September 11, 2001, hijackers took control of four
   domestic U.S. commercial airliners, including United Airlines Flight 93
   which departed from Newark International Airport in the September 11,
   2001 attacks. All of the planes crashed, two of them into the two
   tallest towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City which
   collapsed within two hours and were viewable from New Jersey. 2,986
   deaths occurred in the attacks, including about 700 residents of New
   Jersey. Over 160,000 people were evacuated by ferry from the Manhattan
   area to New Jersey because the subway and PATH station had been closed
   down.

   The destruction of Lower Manhattan office space accelerated the
   pre-2001 trend of moving jobs from Lower Manhattan to Midtown and New
   Jersey. The Goldman Sachs Tower was constructed in Jersey City as part
   of this effect. Towns in New Jersey such as Middletown that were
   especially hard hit suffered from aftereffects of the attack.
   A letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle containing anthrax
   powder caused the deaths of two postal workers.
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   A letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle containing anthrax
   powder caused the deaths of two postal workers.

   For several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, letters bearing a
   Trenton, New Jersey postmark and containing anthrax bacteria were
   mailed to several news media offices and two US Senators. These anthrax
   attacks resulted in the deaths of five people and caused twenty-two
   people to develop anthrax infections (eleven of which were
   life-threatening).

2004-05 gubernatorial vacancy

   Current Governor Jon Corzine
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   Current Governor Jon Corzine

   Former Governor James E. McGreevey resigned on November 15, 2004 after
   charges of pay-to-play and extortion scandals involving the impropriety
   of the appointment of an unqualified long rumored homosexual love
   interest. New Jersey had no Lieutenant Governor position at the time,
   leaving a vacancy in the office. Senate President Richard Codey served
   as Acting Governor (then Governor) in McGreevey's place. Jon Corzine
   was elected Governor of New Jersey on November 8, 2005, and took office
   on January 17, 2006. On Election Day, November 8, 2005, the voters
   passed an amendment to the state constitution creating the position of
   Lieutenant Governor, effective with the 2009 elections.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Jersey"
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