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.
New Jersey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Admitted to the Union | December 18, 1787 (3rd) |
| Capital | Trenton |
| Largest city | Newark |
| Government | |
| • Governor | James McGreevey |
| • Upper house | {{{Upperhouse}}} |
| • Lower house | {{{Lowerhouse}}} |
| U.S. senators | {{{Senators}}} |
| Population | |
• Total | 8,414,350 |
| • Density | 1,130/sq mi (438/km2) |
| Language | |
| Latitude | 73°53'39"W to 75°35'W |
| Longitude | 38°55'N to 41°21'23"N |
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.
New Jersey was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. 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.
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) from 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 James E. McGreevey (Democrat) and its two U.S. senators are Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat) and Jon Corzine (Democrat). On August 12, 2004, Governor McGreevey resigned his office, effective November 15, 2004. The State Senate President will serve as Acting Governor for the remaining year of McGreevey's term; at present, the State Senate President is Richard Codey. New Jersey has 13 Congressional Districts.
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.) Among its geographical 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. [1]
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 existance 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
As of the 2000 census, the population of New Jersey is 8,414,350. Its population grew 8.6% (666,600) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000 census, 72.6% (6,104,705) identified themselves as Caucasian, 13.6% (1,141,821) as African-American, 13.3% (1,117,191) as Hispanic or Latino, 5.7% (480,276) as Asian, 0.2% (19,492) as American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.04% (3,329) as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 5.4% (450,972) as other, and 2.5% (213,755) identified themselves as belonging to two or more races.
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.
Newark and Camden are two of the poorest cities in the U.S., but the state has the second highest household income in the nation.
New Jersey is also noted for being the most densely populated state in the nation.
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," broadcast on HBO, depicts the life of a New Jersey organized crime family and is filmed on location in 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.
The properties in 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.
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.
See also: List of New Jersey State Highways
Important cities and towns
Major cities (and their populations):
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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%[2].
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
- Atlantic Cape Community College, Mays Landing (Serving Atlantic and Cape May Counties)
- Bergen Community College, Paramus
- Brookdale Community College, Lincroft
- Burlington County College, Pemberton
- Camden County College, Blackwood
- County College of Morris, Randolph
- Cumberland County College, Vineland
- Essex County College, Newark
- Gloucester County College, Sewell
- Hudson County Community College, Jersey City
- Mercer County Community College, Trenton
- Middlesex County College, Edison
- Ocean County College, Toms River
- Passaic County Community College, Paterson-Wanaque-Wayne
- Raritan Valley Community College, North Branch (Serving Somerset and Hunterdon Counties)
- Salem Community College, Carneys Point
- Sussex County Community College, Newton
- Union County College, Cranford
- Warren County Community College, Washington
Professional sports teams
Miscellaneous Information
State Bird: American Goldfinch
State Animal: Horse
State Flower: African Violet
State Tree: Red Oak
State Song: None official
Related topics
External links
- http://www.state.nj.us Official New Jersey state web site
- http://www.njslom.org/types.html Descriptions of NJ forms of government (e.g., township, borough, etc.) from NJ State League of Municipalities
