New Jersey

By Luke McMahon

Why New Jersey?

I picked New Jersey as my project on the United States of America because I am from New Jersey. I was born in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey on Thursday December 27th 2001. I lived in New Jersey for three years, visited all the well known spots like the famous Jersey shore, Atlantic City, Princeton University and Cape May.

We lived near Jockey Hollow, where George Washington and the continental army camped from December 1779 to June 1780 during the American Revolution. My earliest memories are of chasing squirrels in the Jockey Hollow woods.

Facts
New Jersey was the 3rd state in the U.S.A. It became a state on The State capital is Trenton but the largest city is Newark.

December 18, 1787. It is the 47th biggest state, so one of the smallest.

The population is 8.4 million and its area is 3,722 sq mile.

Name of residents is New Jerseyites. Major rivers- Delaware and Hudson. State nickname - Garden state and State motto - Liberty and

Prosperity.

Number of counties- 21.

Bordering states are New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

The first White House was in New Jersey. Major Industries- Farming, chemicals, insurance, tourism. The first game of baseball happened in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846.

History of New Jersey

The first people to live in New Jersey were the Delaware Indians.

They lived there starting at least 10,000 years ago.

Around 1524, Giovanni de Verrazano became the first European

to explore New Jersey.

The colonial history of New Jersey started after Henry Hudson

sailed through Newark Bay in 1609. Although Hudson was British, he worked for the Netherlands, so he claimed the land for the Dutch and called it New Netherlands. control of the land and added it to their colonies.

In 1664 the Dutch lost New Netherlands when the British took For many years, New Jersey shared a royal governor with New

York. The governorship was finally split in 1738 when New Jersey got its own governor, Lewis Morris.

History of New Jersey

In 1776 New Jersey declared itself an independent state and

joined the colonial side in the Revolutionary War.

New Jersey was an important state during the Revolutionary War

because of its location. More battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other state.

After winning the Battle of Trenton, General George Washington won the battle of Princeton. The British fled New Jersey for New York. Washington and his troops spent the rest of the winter in Morristown, and the United States was well on its way to victory.
In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S.

Constitution and the first state to sign the Bill of Rights.

In 1790, Trenton officially became the state capital of New

Jersey. William Livingston became New Jersey's first state governor.

History of New Jersey

New Jersey prospered during the early 1800s. New

factories sprung up throughout the state. urban areas nearby.

South Jersey remained rural, growing the crops to feed the

During the Civil War, New Jersey provided 31 regiments

(groups of soldiers), including cavalry (soldiers on horseback) and infantry (soldiers on foot)
and New Jersey continued to grow.

After the Civil War, the industrial revolution was under way,

Many immigrants came from Ireland and Germany. Later,

people came from other countries in Europe.

A lot of genius inventors lived in New Jersey and helped

with the states economic expansion. Thomas Edison is probably most famous, he invented the light bulb and developed the motion picture while working in New Jersey.

History of New Jersey

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit New Jersey hard, bringing

massive unemployment.

The state recovered during World War II in the 1940s as New

Jersey's electronics and chemical industries began operations. opened in the 1950s, connecting the rural parts with the cities.

The New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway roads October 29, 2012 Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey

and destroyed 346,000 homes and killed 37 people. Damage is estimated to be 30 billion dollars.

New Jersey today is in the process of rebuilding.

Famous New Jerseyities

Frank Sinatra Singer / Actor
Kevin Spacey - Actor Bruce Springsteen - Musician

Meryl Streep - Actress

Jack Nicholson - Actor Whitney Houston - Singer Jon Bon Jovi - Musician Ice T Rapper / Actor

Conclusion
New Jersey is a great place to visit because there is

something for everyone.

historic estate homes.

From national historic parks, battlefield sites and great From the famous New Jersey boardwalk/ beaches, casinos

in Atlantic City and the lighthouse at Cape May.

New Jersey has the traditional four seasons, cold and

snowy in Winter, sunny in Spring, hot in Summer and bright orange leaves in the Autumn so you can plan your day out without worrying about the weather like Ireland.

I hope to go back and visit New Jersey soon

New Jersey Quiz

What county in NJ, am I from? How many counties are there in NJ? Name the capital of NJ? What is its nickname? Who were the first people to live in NJ? What was the first name of NJ? Who was NJs first State governor? Name a famous person from NJ? What states border NJ? When was George Washington in Morristown, NJ? What terrible event happened to NJ in October 2012.