Discover New Jersey – The third state of the original thirteen states of the USA
Discover New Jersey – The third state of the original thirteen states of the USA
The state of New Jersey was the third state to be ratified in the Constitution on December 18, 1787.
The first 13 states of the United States of America were comprised of the original British colonies established between 17th and 18th centuries.
Today, the American flag prominently displays 13 horizontal red and white stripes representing the original thirteen colonies.
Fast Facts
- Nickname: The Garden State
- Statehood: 1787; 3rd state
- Capital: Trenton
- Biggest City: Newark
- Abbreviation: NJ
- State Bird: eastern goldfinch
- State Flower: common violet
History
- The first people came to the area that’s now New Jersey at least 12,000 years ago. Thousands of years later, Native American tribes including the Lenape, Munsee (or Minsi), and Unalachtigo lived on the land.
- Around 1524 Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano became the first European to arrive in the region. Then Swedish, Finnish, and Dutch colonists built settlements and fought over land until England took control of the region in 1664. New Jersey became one of 13 American colonies ruled by the British.
- Eventually the colonists living there wanted independence. This led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775. New Jersey was the site of more Revolutionary War battles than any other state. In 1776 George Washington crossed of the Delaware River into Trenton, New Jersey, where he defeated British forces. The battle was a turning point in the war, as one of the first major military victories in the Revolutionary War. In 1787 New Jersey became the third U.S. state and the first to sign the Bill of Rights.
Why is it called New Jersey?
- The state was named in honor of British colonist George Carteret, who’d previously been governor of the Isle of Jersey, a British island in the English Channel, between the United Kingdom and France.
- New Jersey was nicknamed the Garden State in 1876, because of the huge amount of food grown there during that time.
Geography
- New Jersey is bordered by Pennsylvania and New York in the north, Pennsylvania in the west, Delaware and Delaware Bay in the south, the Atlantic Ocean in west, and Long Island (a part of New York) in the east. It can be divided into four different geographical regions.