New Jersey

New Jersey is a state of the United States and its U.S. postal abbreviation is NJ. New Jersey was named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

USS New Jersey was named in honor of this state.

History

Originally inhabited by tribes of the Lenape, New Jersey became a colony of Britain on March 12, 1664. King Charles II of England gave his brother, the Duke of York (later James II of England) 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 to two friends who had been loyal through the English Civil War: Sir George Carteret and John, Lord 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 February 15, 1804 New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish slavery.

Law and Government See: List of Governors of New Jersey The capital of New Jersey is Trenton. The governor of New Jersey is James E. McGreevey[?] and its two U.S. senators are Frank R. Lautenberg[?] (Democrat) and Jon Corzine[?] (Democrat).

Geography See: List of New Jersey counties

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:

• Raritan River
• Watchung[?]
• Sandy Hook[?]
• Rancocas River[?]
• Pine Barrens[?]
• Delaware Water Gap[?]

Economy

New Jersey's 1999 total state gross product was $332 billion, placing it 8^th in the nation. Its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $36,983, 3^rd in the nation. Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. Its industrial outputs are chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism.

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 White, 13.6% (1,141,821) as black, 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.

New Jersey is also noted for being the most densely populated state in the nation and the wealthiest state in the nation, with a median income of $55,146 a year, according to the 2000 census.

Important Cities and Towns

Major cities include:

Smaller towns include Haddonfield[?] and Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Education

Colleges and Universities

Professional Sports Teams

Although the National Football League teams below are listed as "New York" teams, they actually play at the Giants Stadium[?], which is situated in New Jersey.

• New York Jets
• New York Giants

Miscellaneous Information

See: List of New Jersey State Highways

External Links

• http://www.state.nj.us