New Jersey
From ArticleWorld
New Jersey is the forth smallest state in the United States. As one of the thirteen original colonies, New Jersey also has a rich American history.
History
The land now known as New Jersey was original populated by Native Americans for more than 5,000 years before the arrival of the first European settlers. The Swedes and Dutch then came to the area. The land then became known as the New Netherlands and included part of New York City. New Amsterdam later became New York City.
In 1664, Britain took control of the area and Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley, both loyal friends to the King of England during the English civil war.
As a British colony, New Jersey was a site of much American Revolution action and is referred to as the “Crossroads of Revolution.” The Battle of Trenton, in which Washington’s army crossed the Delaware and attacked Hessian troops on Christmas Day, and the Second Battle of Trenton, which stooped Cornwallis’ troops on January 3, were two famous American battles fought on New Jersey soil.
In 1783, Princeton, New Jersey was the United States capital for about four months. The Continental Congress met to sign the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution.
New Jersey today
New Jersey is home to about 9.2 million people with an average of 1,134.4 residents living per a square mile – the highest in the United States. New Jersey is home to the highest Italian-American population in America and the second highest in Jewish and Muslim populations.
New Jersey’s capital is Trenton, and its largest city is Newark. New Jersey is bordered by New York to the north, Delaware to the South, the Atlantic Ocean to the East, and Pennsylvania to the West.
New Jersey’s poor soil made it an obvious site for the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. New Jersey was a site for textile, locomotion, and steamboat mills and a center for war production during both World Wars.
More than 100 Fortune 500 companies are based in New Jersey, including John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and AT&T.
Famous people with New Jersey connections include Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Jack Nicholson, and Kevin Smith