New Jersey

The Garden State joined the Union on December 18, 1787, as the third state. Located in northeastern United States, New Jersey is the smallest of the mid-Atlantic states and ranks forty-sixth in size among the fifty states. Its total area is just 7,787 square miles (20,168 square kilometers). New Jersey is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Delaware , Pennsylvania , New York , and Connecticut .

The Leni-Lenape (meaning “Original People”) were the first known inhabitants of New Jersey. They were a peaceful, agricultural people. The first European explorers reached the Jersey shore in 1524, and in 1609, Henry Hudson (d. 1611) sailed under the Dutch flag to lay claim to the region. New Jersey's first town, Bergen, was founded in 1660 by settlers from Holland. Within one hundred years, only a few hundred Leni-Lenape survived, the majority having been killed by smallpox, alcohol abuse, and gun violence.

England took control of the region in 1664, and it was settled into two distinct provinces but one colony: East Jersey was settled by Puritans from Long Island and New England and West Jersey was settled by English Quakers .

New Jersey was the winter headquarters for General George Washington (1732–1799) and his troops in the American Revolution (1775–83) , and five major battles were fought there. That state was bitterly divided throughout the American Civil War (1861–65). Many residents urged the North to make peace with the South. The state sent into battle its full quota of troops, and its factories manufactured munitions and other equipment for the Union army. Even after war's end, African Americans were not allowed to vote in New Jersey until 1870.

New Jersey was officially declared “urban” by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1880, when the state population rose above one million for the first time. In 2006, the population was just over 8.7 million, with 69.9 percent being white, another 13.3 African American. Hispanics and Latinos make up another 15.3 percent.

The late 1990s saw the state grow by 24.2 acres when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that most of Ellis Island , the eastern seaboard immigration center, belonged to New Jersey. In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd damaged more than eight thousand homes and destroyed hundreds more. It was one of the worst natural disasters in the state's history.

New Jersey's economy is based on oil refining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, food processing, apparel, and technological equipment. Wholesale and retail trade also generate a substantial portion of the state's income, with the heaviest concentration of jobs being in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City. Because New Jersey is such a small state, many of its residents find jobs across the border in these states.

Tens of millions of tourists visit New Jersey each year, mostly to enjoy the Jersey shore and its popular resort, Atlantic City. The state also hosts ten ski areas, thirty amusement parks, and thirty-one public golf courses.