History of New Jersey

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History of
New Jersey

Colonial period

American Revolution

Nineteenth century

Twentieth century

Twenty-first century

 v
 t
 e

The history of what is now New Jersey begins at the end of the Younger Dryas, about
15,000 years ago. Native Americans moved into New town reversal of the Younger
Dryas; before then an ice sheet hundreds of feet thick had made the area of northern
New Jersey uninhabitable.
European contact began with the exploration of the Jersey Shore by Giovanni da
Verrazzano in 1524. At the time of European contact, many tribes of the Lenape lived in
the area.
In the 17th century, the New Jersey region came under the control of the Swedes and
the Dutch, resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch proved victorious (1655). However,
the English seized the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664, renaming it
the Province of New Jersey. New Jersey became one of the Thirteen Colonies which
broke away from Britain in the American Revolution, adopting the Declaration of
Independence in 1776. Becoming a state upon the formation of the United States, New
 Jersey saw significant action during the American Revolutionary War. New Jersey's
delegates signed the Articles of Confederation in 1779 and Princeton acted as the
nation's capital for four months in 1783.
In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution.[1]
In the 19th century, New Jersey cities led the United States into the Industrial
Revolution and provided soldiers for many of the wars the United States fought,
including 88,000 men 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 develop
further. During the early 20th century New Jersey prospered, but the economy
weakened in the Great Depression of the 1930s. During World War II (1939–1945) and
the Cold War (c. 1947–1991), New Jersey's shipyards and military bases played an
important role in the defense of the United States. [citation needed] In the 1960s New Jersey
became the site of several race riots and of the Glassboro Summit Conference (1967),
between American President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin.

Contents

 1Paleo-Indians and Native Americans

 2European exploration
 3Colonial history
o 3.1New Netherland
o 3.2New Sweden
o 3.3Province of New Jersey
 4American Revolution
 5Nineteenth century
o 5.1Industrial Revolution
o 5.2Second Party System
o 5.3War and slavery
 6Twentieth century
o 6.1Early 1900s and World War I
o 6.2Roaring Twenties
o 6.3Great Depression era
o 6.4World War II And The 1940s
o 6.5Late twentieth century
 7Twenty-first century
o 7.1Terrorist attacks
o 7.22004–05 gubernatorial vacancy and subsequent events
 8See also
 9Notes and references
 10Further reading
o 10.1Surveys
o 10.2Local history
o 10.3Economic and social history
o 10.4Politics
 o 10.5Primary sources
 11External links

Paleo-Indians and Native Americans[edit]

Paleo-Indians first settled in the area of present-day New Jersey after the Wisconsin
Glacier melted around 13,000 B.C. The Zierdt site in Montague, Sussex County and the
Plenge site along the Musconetcong River in Franklin Township, Warren County, as
well as the Dutchess Cave in Orange County, New York, represent camp sites of Paleo-
Indians. Paleo Indians were hunter-gatherers, hunting game and gathering plants for
eating. They moved as soon as game or plants became scarce.
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spans the time period
from roughly 1000 BCE to 1,000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The Hopewell
tradition summarizes the common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished
along rivers in the northeastern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE.[2]
Later other Native Americans settled in New Jersey. Around the year 1000, a Native
American group known as the Lenape, later called Delaware Indians, settled in New
Jersey. They came from the Mississippi valley. The Lenape formed loosely organized
groups who at first migrated seasonally. With the advent of the bow-and-arrow and of
pottery around the year 500 A.D., extended family groups began to stay in areas longer.
They practiced small-scale agriculture (companion planting), such as growing corn and
pole beans together and squash. They were hunting and gathering, hunting with bow-
and-arrow, and using deadfall traps and snares. They also gathered nuts in the autumn
such as acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts, butternuts, beech nuts and chestnuts. The Native
Americans and Paleo-Indians fished in all rivers and streams using nets and fish hooks
and by hand. They also fished in the region surrounding the Delaware River, the
lower Hudson River, and western Long Island Sound. Traces of their Algonquian
language survive in many place-names throughout the state.[3]

European exploration[edit]
In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing in the service of France, explored the Jersey
Coast[4] including Sandy Hook and The Narrows, now the site of the bridge which bears
his name. In 1609, Sir Henry Hudson sailing for the Dutch East India Company,
[5]
 explored the East Coast including the Delaware, Raritan, Newark, New York bays and
the Hudson Valley. During the next four years, on somewhat secretive
missions, Adriaen Block explored and mapped the coast along Delaware, New Jersey,
Long Island, and New England, naming it for the first time New Netherlands.

Colonial history[edit]
Main article: Colonial history of New Jersey
New Netherland[edit]
Main article: Bergen, New Netherland
A modern map which approximates the relative size and location of the settled areas of New Netherland and
New Sweden, which was never officially recognized by the Dutch Republic

Between 1611 and 1614, three Dutchmen, Adriaen Block, H. Christiaensen and C. Mey
surveyed land between the 40th and 45th parallels along the Atlantic coast and named
the area they surveyed New Netherlands.
Initially, small out-posts were built for the fur trade. In May 1624, from a ship under the
command of Cornelius Jacobsen Mey (after whom Cape May is named) thirty families
were required to spread themselves throughout the region including Fort Wilhelmus.
The last was on the east bank of the Delaware River,[6] the site of the first European
settlement in what would become New Jersey. Later another was built at Fort Nassau.
The next European settlement was on the banks of the Upper New York Bay across the
Hudson[7] from Fort Amsterdam (in Manhattan) in 1630. Located at Paulus Hook it was
part of the patroonship Pavonia, named (in Latinized form) for Micheal Pauw[8] who had
bought the tract from the Lenape. At the time it was the territory of the Unami, or Turtle
Clan. The settlement grew slowly, impeded by mismanagement of the Dutch West India
Company and conflicts with the indigenous population known as Kieft's War and
The Peach Tree War. In 1658, Director-General of New Netherland Peter
Stuyvesant "re-purchased" the entire peninsula known as Bergen Neck, and in 1661
granted a charter to the village at Bergen, establishing the oldest municipality in the
state. The British take-over in 1664 was formalized in 1674, ending the province of the
New Netherland, though the North Jersey would retain a "Dutch" character for many
years to come.[9]
New Sweden[edit]
Main article: New Sweden
Part of southwestern New Jersey was settled by the Swedes by the mid-17th century.
[10]
 New Sweden, founded in 1638, rose to its height under governor Johan Björnsson
Printz (1643–53). Led by Printz, the settlement extended north from Fort Christina on
both sides of the Delaware River. Printz 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 River. 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.[11] C. A. Nothnagle Log House and Schorn Log Cabin are
remainders of this early influence. (New Sweden's colonial population may have peaked
at 368 people in 1654, after being boosted by more than 250 people along with new
governor Johan Rising. This was not enough to stave off 317 Dutch soldiers the next
year, however.[12] At least one online source[13] asserts that some 600 colonists settled in
New Sweden; it is unclear from that source how many were in New Sweden at any one
point in time.)
Province of New Jersey[edit]
Main article: Province of New Jersey
See also: Province of New York and Dominion of New England
The Province of New Jersey, Divided into East and West, commonly called The Jerseys,
1777 map by William Faden

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 (later James II & VII), 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 Harbor and seized the colony. The British encountered little
resistance, perhaps due to the unpopularity of the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant.
[14]
 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 west of
the Hudson River was renamed New Jersey after the English Channel Island
of Jersey which Charles II of England, after having seen their loyalty to the crown, gave
to the people of Jersey as a reward for having given him hospitality in the castle of Mont
Orgueil before he was proclaimed king in 1649. The city of 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.
Charles II gave the region between New England and Maryland to his brother, the Duke
of York (later King James II & VII), 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.
[15]
 However, the two proprietors found collecting the quitrents difficult, and on March 18,
1674 Berkeley sold his share of New Jersey to the Quakers.[16][17]
This sale divided the province into East Jersey and West Jersey. The exact line
between West and East Jersey generally corresponded to the Keith Line 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.[18] 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[edit]
Main article: New Jersey in the American Revolution
Military map by William Faden with troop movements during the Ten Crucial Days
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.
[19]
 The loyalists included the governor of New Jersey, William Franklin.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

New Jersey Constitution of 1776

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 non-whites 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.[20] Both political parties in elections mocked the other for
relying on "petticoat electors" for allowing women to vote. The right to vote was
restricted to white males in 1807. 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. [21] Throughout the war hundreds
of engagements occurred in New Jersey, more than in any other colony. Five major
battles were fought at Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, Union 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.
On the night of December 25–26, 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,[22] 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 meant
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

On 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 counter-attacks, both of which failed. As
temperatures increased to over 100 °F (38 °C), 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.[23]
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 United
States Constitution, and on November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state in
the Nation to ratify the United States 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[edit]
Main article: New Jersey in the 19th century
Industrial Revolution[edit]
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 Hammell Cook. The publication of this survey helped to increase the state's
involvement in agricultural research and direct support to farmers. [24] 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

Paterson became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America. Energy was

harnessed from the 77 feet (23 m) 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.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

New Jersey Constitution of 1844

The second version of the New Jersey State Constitution was written in 1844. The
constitution provided suffrage only to white males, removing it from all women and from
people of other races. Suffrage had been awarded to those groups under the original
New Jersey State Constitution of 1776. Some 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.[25] 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% 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 ocean-going
steamboat went from Hoboken, New Jersey, sailed around southern New Jersey, and
ended in Philadelphia. Later, systems of canals were 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, to Bordentown, New Jersey, on
the Delaware River. Locomotion was also improved; Hoboken-born inventor John
Stevens built a 10-ton locomotive and his son Robert L. Stevens 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.
Second Party System[edit]
Historians have examined the emergence of the Second Party System at the state and
local level. For example Bruce Bendler argues that in New Jersey the same dramatic
changes that were reshaping the rest of the country were especially pointed in that state
in the 1820s. A new political system emerged by the end of the decade as voters
polarized in support or opposition to Jackson. By the mid-1830s the Democrats and the
Whigs had fully mobilize practically all of the voters into pro-and anti—Jackson
coalitions. Furthermore the "Market Revolution" was well underway, as industrialization
and upgraded transportation networks made the larger picture more important than the
local economy, and entrepreneurs and politicians became leaders in speeding up the
changes. for example William N. Jeffers of Salem County, New Jersey, build his political
success on leadership with the Jacksonian forces at the local level, while at the same
time building his fortune with a bank charter and building a steam mill. [26]
War and slavery[edit]
Main article: New Jersey in the American Civil War
During the Mexican–American War, a battalion of volunteers from New Jersey, in four
companies, was active from September 1847 to July 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

The Quaker population was especially intolerant of slavery, and the state was a major
part of the Underground Railroad. The New Jersey legislature passed an act for the
gradual abolition of slavery in 1804, providing that no person born after that date would
be a slave. 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.
The 1860 census found just over 25,000 free African Americans in the state.
[27]
 Thousands of former slaves—both from rural New Jersey and the South—migrated to
shore communities like Red Bank, Long Branch, and Asbury Park during the last
decades of the nineteenth century, creating sizable, stable communities that persisted
over the next century.[28]
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 about 20% 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 theater. [29] 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 favor Stephen Douglas over Abraham
Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election. The people of New Jersey also cast
their electoral votes for George B. McClellan when he ran for president against
Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864. The people had the distinction of 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 strong through Civil War
production. They manufactured many necessities, including clothing and war materials
like ammunition. These cities prospered through heavy production even after the end of
the war.[30]

Twentieth century[edit]
Main article: New Jersey in the 20th century
Early 1900s and World War I[edit]
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.

Michael Schleisser and the "Jersey man-eater" as seen in the Bronx Home News

Between July 1 and July 12, 1916 a series of shark attacks occurred along the Jersey
Shore in which four swimmers were killed and another severely injured. The incidents
occurred during a deadly heat wave and polio epidemic in the Northeastern United
States that drove thousands of people to the seaside resorts of the Jersey Shore.
Scientists since then have debated which shark species was responsible, with the great
white shark as the most cited.
New Jersey was a center 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, in Cresskill, was activated for use in World War I. It was from there that
many soldiers were deployed to Hoboken before shipping off to Europe. Camp Merritt
was decommissioned in November 1919.[31] Fort Dix, in Pemberton Township, New
Jersey, was also constructed in 1917 to help in the war effort. [32] It was used as a training
and staging ground throughout the war. After the war, it was converted into a
demobilization center.
Roaring Twenties[edit]
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. Although factory production decreased after the end of World
War I, production lines still churned out goods.
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.[33] 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 the first state to ratify Prohibition, which restricted the purchasing and
selling of alcohol. However, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, which banned alcohol manufacturing & sales, was later repealed by
the Twenty-first