This Is My New Jersey

I am excited to (hopefully) be the first person of your day to wish you a Happy New Jersey Day!

Now for me, every day is New Jersey Day, but this is one of the two days out of the year we all need to stop and pay homage to our great state. In case you are wondering, the second important day for the Garden State is December 18th when it ratified the United States Constitution, thus becoming the third state to join the union in 1787.

But back to today and celebrating all that is great about the Garden State!

While many people have negative opinions about New Jersey, thanks to two television shows that shall remain nameless, those of us who call New Jersey home know better. Where else can you go from being down the shore to beautiful wooded areas in a short drive? Where else can you go on the absolute best hot dog road trip to find your favorite?

Nowhere baby!

The first inhabitants of New Jersey were the Delaware and Lenni Lenape Indians. Their name means “original people” or “genuine people” and they spoke an Algonquian dialect. I first learned about them in fourth grade when we spent the entire school year learning New Jersey history.

Historically speaking, New Jersey should have been the first state if you ask me. We were first explored by Italian Giovanni de Verrazano around 1525. He sailed along the coast and anchored off Sandy Hook. When the British took control from the Dutch in 1664, the state was divided in two – and no it was not split by the North and South like it is today – it was split east and west by Sir George Carteret (who was in charge of the east side) and Lord John Berkley (who was in charge of the west side). The land was officially named New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. The two sold land to the early settlers at low prices seeking political and religious freedom. This original settlement ever since has been incredibly ethnically diverse. Primarily a rural society, the colony grew to have about 100,000 people.

We played host to more battles during the Revolutionary War than any other state – over 100 battles, large and small. Many historians consider the Battle of Trenton the turning point of the Revolution. After being pushed into Pennsylvania, the colonists waited for their opportunity. British and Hessian forces did not follow them as they believed there was no way the colonists could cross the Delaware back into New Jersey due to the treacherous conditions on the river – but they were wrong. In December, Washington and his men decided to cross, fighting the ice and the current. The surprise attack from two different sides worked and the colonists captured 900 prisoners and only four American soldiers were wounded.

Once again, New Jersey led the way and was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights on November 20th, 1789.

New Jersey prospered during the 1800s, developing manufacturing centers in Newark, Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Trenton, Paterson, and Passaic. From silk to locomotives, New Jersey was played a key role in the industrialization of our young nation.

Inventor Thomas Edison made West Orange his home and built his famous laboratory that sparked innovation including the light bulb and helped create the motion picture industry in Fort Lee – not Hollywood.

New Jersey had the first drive-in movie theater (Camden County), the first boardwalk (Atlantic City), the first organized baseball team (Hoboken), developed the first submarine (by John Holland of Passaic County), and the first copper mine (Kittatinny Mountains).

This is an incredibly short history of the Garden State, home today to over nine million people. I always say it is so crowded because everyone wants to live here!

So grab an Italian Hot dog and a beer (the first brewery was in Hoboken, in case you were wondering) and celebrate!