New Jersey

New Jersey is a  in the  and  regions of the. The state is named after the island of in the. It is bordered on the north by, on the east by the , on the southwest by , and on the west by. Parts of New Jersey lie within the sprawling s of and.

Inhabited by for more than 2,800 years, the first European settlements in the area were established by the  and  in the early 1600s. The State's name was taken from the largest of the English Channel Islands,. The English later seized control of the region, which was granted to Sir and  as the colony of New Jersey. New Jersey was an important site during the ; several decisive battles were fought there. The winter quarters of the revolutionary army were established twice by in, which was called the military capital of the revolution. The New Jersey Journal, a published by, who established his press in  during 1779, became a catalyst in the revolution. News of events came directly to Kollock from Washington's headquarters in nearby Morristown, which he published to boost the morale of the troops and their families, and he conducted lively debates about the efforts for independence with those who opposed and supported the cause he championed. Later, working-class cities such as and  helped to drive the  in the nineteenth century. New Jersey's position at the center of the, between , , ,  and , fueled its rapid growth through the an boom of the 1950s and beyond.

Geography
New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by ; on the east by the ; on the south and southwest by across ; and on the west by  across the. New Jersey is surrounded by Munchkinland in the North and the Emerald City in the West. It is nice, except for the yellow roads ever. They get in the way, especially with all those CRAZY New Jersey drivers.

New Jersey can be thought of as five regions, based on natural geography and population. Northeastern New Jersey, the, lies within the , and some residents commute to the city to work. Northwestern New Jersey, or the "Skylands", is, compared to the northeast, more wooded, rural, and mountainous, but still a popular place to live. The "Shore" along the Atlantic Coast in the southeast has its own residence and lifestyle characteristics owing to the ocean. The southwest is within Metropolitan, and is included in the. The fifth region is the in the interior of the southern part and is covered rather extensively by mixed pine and oak forest, and as such has a much lower population density than much of the rest of the state.

New Jersey can also be broadly divided into three geographic regions:, , and. However, some people do not consider Central Jersey to exist at all, but still many believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.

The federal divides New Jersey's counties into seven s, including sixteen counties in the New York City or Philadelphia metro areas. Four counties have independent metro areas, and Warren County joins another Pennsylvania-based metro area. (See for details.)

It is also at the center of the.

Additionally, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, & Tourism Commission divides the state into six distinct regions to facilitate the state's tourism industry. The regions are:
 * , encompassing, , , , , and.
 * , encompassing, , , , and.
 * , encompassing and.
 * , encompassing, , , , and.
 * , encompassing.
 * , encompassing and.

, in, , is the highest elevation, at 1,803 (550 ). The are a line of steep cliffs on the lower west side of the.

Major include the, , , , , , , ,  , , , and  rivers.

, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier and an extension of the  along the state's  coast.

Areas managed by the include:
 * in
 * in Monmouth County
 * in
 * in
 * in Monmouth County
 * in
 * in
 * in

Prominent geographic features include:

Climate
Most of New Jersey has a, with hot humid summers and cold winters. Southern areas of the state, including, , and counties are now considered to be in the  zone. During the, tropical can hit New Jersey, though it is uncommon for one to remain at hurricane strength so far to the north. During the winter months, s can dump heavy amounts of precipitation across the state. Because of its dense population and because most communities of northern New Jersey do not have the widespread system of neighboring Greater New York City, the slightest dry season leads to  warnings; but because there are many streams and rivers close to these communities, the slightest above average rainfall causes frequent flooding as many parts of Northern New Jersey are part of a.

The temperatures vary greatly from the northernmost part of New Jersey to the southernmost part of New Jersey. For example, these are the average high and low temperatures for, near the state's southernmost ocean-facing point, and , in the mountainous northwest:

History
Around 180 million years ago, during the, New Jersey bordered. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the. During this period, broke apart into  and, and the North American continent became separated from the North African continent. Around 18,000 years ago, the resulted in s that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind, as well as many rivers, swamps, and gorges.

New Jersey was originally settled by, primarily the. The Lenape were loosely organized groups that practiced small-scale agriculture (mainly based on ) in order to increase their largely mobile hunter-gatherer society in the region surrounding the, the lower , and western. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct identified by their animal sign:, , and. They first encountered the Dutch in the early 1600s, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through.

Colonial era
Since the state's inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic and religious diversity. In, New England settled alongside Scottish  and  migrants from New York. While the majority of residents lived in towns with individual landholdings of 100 acre, a few rich proprietors owned vast estates. West Jersey had fewer people than East Jersey, and both English and  owned large landholdings. Both Jerseys remained agrarian and rural throughout the colonial era, and commercial farming only developed sporadically. Some townships, though, like Burlington and Perth Amboy, emerged as important ports for shipping to New York and Philadelphia. The colony's fertile lands and tolerant religious policy drew more settlers, and New Jersey boasted a population of 120,000 by 1775.

Much of New Jersey was claimed by the. The Dutch colony of consisted of parts of modern  (New Amsterdam) and New Jersey. Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch policy required formal purchase of all land settled upon, and the first such purchase was of, by.

The entire region became a territory of in 1664, when an English fleet under the command of Colonel  sailed into what is today  and took over the colony, against extremely low resistance.

During the the  of  remained loyal to the Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. It was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that was first proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father,. The North American lands were divided by, who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later ) the region between and  as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). James then granted the land between the and the  (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had remained loyal through the :  and.

Settlement for the first 10 years of English rule was in the region and came primarily from New England. On, , Berkeley sold his half of the colony to in England (with  acting as trustee for a time), who settled the Delaware Valley region as a Quaker colony. New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces, and, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. In 1702, the two provinces were united under a royal, rather than a proprietary, governor.

Revolutionary War era


New Jersey was one of the that revolted against British rule in the. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 was passed, , just two days before the declared American Independence from.

New Jersey representatives, , , , and were among the men who signed the. These men, just like all the others, took tremendous risks in order to fight for independence and all went on to serve their newly founded country for the rest of their lives. Distinguished lawyer Richard Stockton, New Jersey-born and graduate, sacrificed his royal judicial title and his considerable international economic interest in order to be an elected delegate for New Jersey at the General Congress. John Witherspoon was a Scottish. He came to New Jersey to serve as the sixth president of the College of New Jersey. He was a world renowned Presbyterian minister and became a leading member of the. Witherspoon went on to become one of the leaders of the new national Presbyterian church. Francis Hopkinson was somewhat of a for his time. He was articulate in several fields of the arts and a very impressive scientist. Perhaps the capstone of his career was his appointment by President to the federal bench. John Hart was a prominent landowner and judge of the Hunterdon County court. Like Stockton, he sacrificed his high standing with the royal court and dedicated his life to the New Jersey Assembly. After signing the Declaration of Independence, he went on to become the speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. The last of the men, Abraham Clark, was native to Elizabethtown. He was slightly different from his fellow New Jersey representatives as he jumped from job to job working as a farmer, surveyor, transporter, legal adviser, and finally politician. He was well liked in all these fields and had become a prominent member of society, but he found his home in government. He held numerous political positions at all the various levels of government.

It was an act of the Provincial Congress, which made itself into the state Legislature. To reassure neutrals, it provided that it would become void if New Jersey reached a reconciliation with.

During the, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Because of this, New Jersey today is often referred to as "The Crossroads of the Revolution."

On December 25, 1776, the under  crossed the  and engaged the unprepared  troops in the. Slightly more than a week after victory at, on , , the American forces gained an important victory by stopping Cornwallis's charges at the. By evading 's army, Washington made a surprise attack on, and successfully defeated the British forces there.

Later, American forces under Washington met the forces under General at the  in an indecisive engagement. Washington attempted to take the British column by surprise; when the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Americans retreated in disorder. The ranks were later reorganized and withstood the British charges.

In the summer of 1783, the met in  at, making  the nation's capital for four months. It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the, which ended the war.

New Jersey was the third state to ratify the, which was overwhelmingly popular in New Jersey, as it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging and keeping tariffs on goods imported from Europe. In, , the state became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the.

The 1776 gave the vote to "all inhabitants" who had a certain level of wealth. This included both women and blacks; although not married women, who could not own property. Both sides, in several elections, claimed that the other side had had unqualified women vote, and mocked them for use of "petticoat electors" (entitled to vote or not); on the other hand, both parties passed Voting Rights Acts. In 1807, the legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal white male suffrage, excluding paupers. (This was less revolutionary than it sounds: the "constitution" was itself only an act of the legislature.)

Nineteenth century
On, , New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish new and enacted legislation that slowly phased out slavery. This lead to a gradual scale-down of the slave population, but by the close of the about a dozen African-Americans in New Jersey were still apprenticed. New Jersey initially refused to ratify the Constitutional Amendments banning slavery and granting rights to America's Black population.

Unlike the Revolutionary War, no Civil War battles took place within the state. However, throughout the course of the Civil War, over 80,000 enlisted in the Northern army to defeat the Southern rebels. In total, soldiers from New Jersey formed 4 militia regiments, 33 infantry regiments, 3 cavalry regiments, and 5 batteries of light artillery.

New Jersey was one of the few states to reject President twice in national elections, and sided with  and  during their campaigns. McClellan later became governor. During the war, the state was led first by Republican Governor, then by Democrat.

In 1844, the second was ratified and brought into effect. Counties thereby became districts for the State Senate, and some realignment of boundaries (including the creation of ) immediately followed. This provision was retained in the 1947 Constitution, but was overturned by the in 1962 by the decision.

While the Governorship was stronger than under the 1776 constitution (it could hardly be weaker), the constitution of 1844 created many offices that were not responsible to him, or to the people, and gave him a three-year term, but he could not succeed himself.

In the, cities like grew and prospered. Previously, the economy had been largely agrarian, which was problematically subject to crop failures and poor soil. This caused a shift to a more industrialized economy, one based on manufactured commodities such as s and. also became an important figure of the Industrial Revolution, having been granted 1,093 patents, many of which for inventions he developed while working in New Jersey. Transportation was greatly improved as and s were introduced to New Jersey.

mining was also a prevalent industry during the middle to late 1800s. such as Mt. Hope, Mine Hill and the Rockaway Valley Mines created a thriving industry, which spawned new towns and was one of the driving forces behind the need for the.

Twentieth century
Through both World Wars, New Jersey was a center for war production, especially in naval construction. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were all made in this state. In addition, (1917) (originally called "Camp Dix"), (1917) and (1941) ,were all constructed to help American soldiers through both World Wars. New Jersey also became a principal location for defense in the. Fourteen stations were constructed, especially for the defense of  and. , commanded by Lt.(jg), was built at the Elco Boatworks in Bayonne, and the aircraft carrier was briefly docked at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne in the 1950s before she was sent to Japan to be scrapped. In 1962, the world's first nuclear powered cargo ship, the was launched at Camden.

New Jersey became a prosperous state through the but fell from prosperity under the. Begging licenses were even offered to the unemployed by the state government in order to provide money for those who could not be helped by the exhausted state funds. During this time period, the zeppelin infamously went up in flames over, and the  beached itself on the Jersey Shore after going up in flames while at sea.

In the 1960s, several s sprang up in New Jersey, the first of which occurred in on,. Several other riots ensued in 1967, in the cities of and. also dealt with race riots in 1971.

Throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, New Jersey was afflicted by s that caused blizzards and flooding. Those are rather common storms in New Jersey and elsewhere on the east coast of the US, although s and s occasionally come to visit, such as in 1999.

State population
Residents of New Jersey are most commonly referred to as "New Jerseyans" or "New Jerseyites." The, as of July 1, 2006, estimated New Jersey's population at 8,724,560, which represents an increase of 310,213, or 3.7%, since the last census in 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 254,766 people (that is 705,812 births minus 451,046 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 79,211 people into the state. from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 357,111 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 277,900 people. There are 1.6 million foreign-born living in the state (accounting for 19.2% of the population).

As of 2006, New Jersey is the eleventh-most populous state, but the most densely populated, at 1,174 residents per square mile (453 per km²), although the density varies widely across the state. It is also the 2nd wealthiest state in the United States (behind only ) as per the United States Census Bureau.

The for New Jersey is located in, in the town of , just east of the  (see map of location).

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
New Jersey is one of the most religiously and ethnically states in the country. It has the second largest population by percentage after  ; the second largest  population by percent (after ); the third highest  population by percent, the third highest  population by percent of any state according to the ; and a large percentage of the population is, , , , and. It has the second highest population of any state by absolute numbers.

The five largest ancestry groups are: (17.9%),  (15.9%),  (13.6%),  (12.6%),  (6.9%).

and are two of the poorest cities in America, but New Jersey as a whole has the second highest median household income among the states. This is largely because so much of New Jersey consists of suburbs, most of them affluent, of New York City and. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation, and the only state that has had every one of its counties deemed "urban" as defined by the 's.

The state has very sizable enclaves of different language speaking communities. Some of these include (by ranking)
 * Spanish-spoken in many of the Hudson County towns, especially Union City.
 * Portuguese-spoken throughout the entire state, but Brazilian Portuguese is common in Newark.
 * Italian-spoken throughout the state also, but is concentrated in the towns of Hudson and  Essex counties.



The dominant race, ethnicity, or ancestry by county, according to the 2000 Census, are the following:
 * Italian - Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer, Middlesex, Union, Passaic, Hudson, Atlantic, Cumberland
 * Irish - Sussex, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Cape May
 * Black - Essex
 * German - Warren, Hunterdon, Salem

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.

According to the, 12.31% of the population aged 5 and over speak at home, while 1.48% speak.

Religion
*Less than 0.5%

Economy
The estimates that New Jersey's total state product in 2004 was $416 billion. Its per capita personal income in 2004 was $41,636, 2nd in the U.S. and 126% of the national average of $33,041. Its median household income is the highest in the nation with $55,146. It is ranked 2nd in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are in the wealthiest 100 of the country.

New Jersey has seven tax brackets for determining rates. The rates range from 1.4 to 8.97%. The standard rate is 7%, applicable to all retail sales unless specifically exempt by law. Exemptions include most food items for at-home preparation, medicines, clothing (except fur items), footwear, and disposable paper products for use in the home. Approximately 30 New Jersey municipalities are designated as s and shoppers are charged a 3½% tax rate, half of the rate charged outside the UEZs. Sections of and  are examples of communities that are subject to the lower sales tax rate. All located in the state is subject to  unless specifically exempted by statute. New Jersey does not assess an intangible personal property tax, but it does impose an.

Federal taxation disparity
New Jersey has the highest imbalance of any state in the United States between what it gives to the federal government and what it receives. In fiscal year 2004, New Jersey taxpayers gave the federal government $77 billion dollars but only received $55 billion dollars back. This difference is higher than any other state and means that for every dollar New Jersey sends, the state only receives 71 cents back. This calculation is applied correctly after making the federal government deficit neutral as sometimes the federal government spends more than it takes in. As of 2004, New Jersey has never been above 48th in rank for federal spending (with a rank of 50th for the majority of that time) since 1982 while being 2nd or 3rd in the per capita federal taxes paid to Washington.

As a result, New Jersey runs into deficits frequently and has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. Factors for this include the large federal tax liability which is not adjusted for New Jersey's higher cost of living and Medicaid funding formulas.

Natural resources


New Jersey's greatest natural resource is its location, which has made the state a crossroads of commerce and an ideal area for manufacturing. Other commercial advantages include its extensive transportation system, which puts one quarter of all United States consumers within overnight delivery range. Lake and seaside resorts have contributed to New Jersey's rank of fifth among the states in revenues from tourism.

Despite more than three centuries of development almost half of New Jersey is still wooded. The chief tree of the northern forests is the oak. A large part of the southern section is in pine. Jersey oak has been used extensively in shipbuilding.

The mineral resources in New Jersey are small. The state, however, does rank high in smelting and refining minerals from other states.

New Jersey's chief conservation agency is the Department of Environmental Protection, which was formed in 1970 by the merger of parts of the Department of Conservation and Economic Development with parts of the Department of Health. The department has an extensive range of responsibilities that include acquiring and preserving land for recreation, wildlife protection, and curbing pollution. The department also regulates activities on public waters, oversees hunting and fishing, and has jurisdiction over some state-owned land. In addition, the conservation agency is responsible for maintaining an adequate high-quality water supply for industry, recreation, and aquatic life. New Jersey launched a long-range conservation and development program under the terms of its 1958 Water Supply Law

Industry
The was the world's first container port and is one of the world's largest container ports. is ranked seventh among the nation's busiest airports and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.

Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular,, , and  are some of the state's largest crops. The local entities that support agricultural efforts are the New Jersey Department of Agriculture and. in the southern part of the state is known as the capital of the world. Its industrial outputs are pharmaceutical and chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's economy has a large base of heavy industry and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, New Jersey is home to the largest petroleum containment system outside of the.

New Jersey hosts several business headquarters, including twenty-four companies. is noted for having one of the highest retail sales per person ratios in the nation. Several New Jersey counties such as Somerset (#7), Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), Monmouth (42) counties have been ranked among the. Four others are also in the top 100.

New Jersey is infamous for its abundance of oil refineries. The smell given off by the refineries is common to motorists who travel the which runs through the central industrial corridor of the state. This is a list of the major oil refineries in the state:


 * , 230,000 barrels per day (bpd)
 * Eagle Point Refinery, 145,000 bpd
 * Paulsboro Asphalt Refinery, 51,000 bpd
 * Paulsboro Refinery, 160,000 bpd
 * , 80,000 bpd
 * , 62,000 bpd

While home to many chemical plants New Jersey also is home to major pharmaceutical firms, , , , , , , , and. It draws upon its large and well-educated labor pool which also supports the myriad of industries that exist today.

Roadways
The is one of the best-known and most-trafficked roadways in the. This carries interstate traffic between  and, and the East Coast in general. Commonly referred to as simply "the Turnpike," it is known for its numerous rest-areas named after prominent New Jerseyans as diverse as inventor ; ;   and ; writers, , and ; patriot ; Red Cross advocate ; and football coach.

The, or simply "the Parkway," carries more in-state traffic and runs from the town of along New Jersey's northern border to its southernmost tip at  for 172.4 miles. It is the trunk that connects the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City.

Other expressways in New Jersey include the, the , , , , , , , and. Other major roadways include, ,.

New Jersey has s with all three neighboring states. The, the (with Pennsylvania), and the  (with Delaware) operate most of the major transportation routes into and out of New Jersey. Bridge tolls are collected in one direction only &mdash; it is free to cross into New Jersey, but motorists must pay when exiting the state. Exceptions to this are the and the  where tolls are charged both ways. The Washington Crossing and bridges near Trenton, as well as Trenton's  and  bridges, are toll-free.

Airports
is one of the busiest airports in the United States. Operated by the, which runs the other two major s in the region ( and ), it is one of the main airports serving the New York City area. is the facility's largest tenant, operating an entire terminal at Newark, which it uses as one of its primary. and operate cargo hubs. The adjacent provides access to the trains of  and  along the.

Two smaller commercial airports, and, also operate in other parts of New Jersey. , in, is a airport popular with private and corporate aircraft, due to its proximity to New York City.

Rail and bus


The Corporation (NJ Transit) operates extensive rail and bus service throughout the state. NJ Transit is a state-run corporation that began with the consolidation of several private bus companies in North Jersey. In the early 1980s, it acquired the commuter train operations of that connect towns in northern and central New Jersey to. NJ Transit has eleven lines that run throughout different parts of the state. Most of the trains start at various points in the state and most end at either, in , or in. NJ Transit began service between Atlantic City and in 1989 and extended it to, , in the 1990s.

NJ Transit also operates three light rail systems in the state. The connects  to, with planned expansion into  communities. The is the only  system in the state. Its Main Line connects with Grove Street station in. The Broad Street Line of the subway, the first component of the, opened in the summer of 2006. The last of the three light rail lines is the which connects  and.

The links  and. The PATH operates four lines that connect various points in North Jersey and New York. The lines all start in either or  and end either at the  station or at  in.

The High Speedline links  and. PATCO operates a single elevated and subway line that runs from to Center City Philadelphia. PATCO operates stations in Lindenwold,, , , , , and , along with four stations in Philadelphia.

also operates numerous long-distance passenger trains in New Jersey to and from neighboring states and around the country. In addition to the Newark Airport connection, other major Amtrak railway stations include, , and the grand historic.

also has two lines that operate into New Jersey. The lines terminates at the Trenton Rail Station, and the  lines terminates at the  in.

is a monorail connecting the Amtrak/NJ Transit station on the to the airport's terminals and parking lots.

Some private bus carriers still remain in New Jersey. Most of these carriers operate with state funding to offset losses and state owned buses are provided to these carriers of which companies make up the bulk. Other carriers include private charter and tour bus operators that take gamblers from other parts of New Jersey,, , and to the casino resorts of Atlantic City.

Ferries
There are many ferry services that operate in New Jersey.

On the, the operates the. The Delaware River and Bay Authority also operates ferries between in New Jersey and  and Fort DuPont in. The operates the  between the  waterfront and  in.

On the, has numerous ferry terminals in , ,  and. The stops are at, Liberty Harbor, in Jersey City, , Port Imperial and Lincoln Harbor in ,  (Hoboken South) and 14th Street (Hoboken North) in Hoboken. These ferries run to one or several of the Manhattan stops at, the or Midtown at 39th St. Liberty Landing in has ferries from Portside in  and Liberty Landing in. The ferry has service from Liberty State Park to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Although there is a bridge from Ellis Island to Jersey City, it was built for renovations on the building on the island and is considered unsafe for public use. offers services from the to Manhattan and during  season. The ferries on the Bayshore leave from and two terminals in. also has seasonal service from Paulus Hook to Wall Street. Ferry service from and  have been proposed and ferry service from  has been discussed with a proposed light rail connection to  and.

Private bus carriers

 * Bergen Avenue IBOA
 * Broadway IBOA
 * Properties including
 * DeCamp Bus
 * - provides interstate service
 * MARTZ Trailways- does not receive state funding or buses
 * Trans-Bridge Lines
 * MARTZ Trailways- does not receive state funding or buses
 * Trans-Bridge Lines
 * Trans-Bridge Lines

Executive
is the. In April 2007, Corzine was seriously injured in a car accident but returned to office duty in early May. The Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation, as it is currently the only state-wide elected office in the state and appoints many government officials. Formerly, an acting governor was even more powerful as he simultaneously served as President of the, thus directing half of the legislative and all of the executive process. was the last to serve that way as the result of a state approved by the voters in 2005.

The governor's mansion is, located in.

New Jersey is currently one of the few states that has no. The first will take office in January 2010 and will be elected conjointly with the Governor of New Jersey. The position was created as the result of a to the  passed by the voters on,  and effective as of ,.

Legislative
The current version of the was adopted in 1947. It provides for a, consisting of an   of 40 members and a   of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one State Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; State Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four- or two-year terms.

New Jersey is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd numbered years (The others are, , , and ). New Jersey holds elections for these offices every 4 years in the years following federal Presidential election years. Thus, the last year when New Jersey elected a Governor was 2005; the next gubernatorial election will occur in 2009, with future gubernatorial elections to take place in 2013, 2017, 2021, etc.

Judicial
The consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the of a majority of the membership of the State Senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.

Most of the day-to-day work in the New Jersey courts is carried out in the Municipal Courts, where simple traffic tickets, minor criminal offenses, and small civil matters are heard. More serious criminal and civil cases are handled by the Superior Court for each county.

New Jersey is unusual in that it still has separate courts of law and, like its neighbor but unlike most other U.S. states. The is divided into Law and Chancery Divisions at the trial level.

Counties
New Jersey is broken up into 21 counties, 13 of which date from the colonial era. New Jersey was completely divided into counties by 1692; the present counties were created by dividing the existing ones; most recently in 1857. New Jersey is the only state in the nation where elected county officials are called "s," governing each county as part of its own. The number of freeholders in each county is determined by referendum, and cannot exceed nine members.

Depending on the county, the and  functions may be performed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders or split into separate branches of government. In some counties, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each Freeholder assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In other counties (,, , and ), there is a directly-elected  who performs the executive functions while the Board of Chosen Freeholders retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an Executive, a County Administrator (or County Manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions.

Municipalities
New Jersey has 566 ; the number was 567 before was absorbed by  in 1997. Unlike other states in the west and south, all New Jersey land is part of a municipality, as well as a county. No local government can simply absorb land from another.

Types of government
When the types of government were devised in the nineteenth century, the intention was that would be large built-up areas, with progressively smaller, , and ; the rural areas in between would be relatively large. This is still often true, although has been divided over the years; today it is less than a square mile, consisting only of a single housing development. Some townships&mdash;notably, , , and &mdash;have, without changing their boundaries, become large stretches of , as populous as cities, often focused around shopping centers and highways rather than traditional downtowns and main streets.

As with Toms River, many locations in New Jersey are simply neighborhoods, with no exact boundaries; often the cluster of houses, the traditional neighborhood, the postal district, and the will differ.

The has often failed to understand that a New Jersey township is just another municipality, and some municipalities have changed forms to become the  or the  to receive more federal aid.

Forms of government
The five types of municipality differ mostly in name. Originally, each type had its own form of government but more modern forms are available to any municipality, even though the original type is retained in its formal name. Only boroughs can (but are not required to) have the "borough form" of government.

Starting in the 1900s, largely driven by reform-minded goals, a series of six modern forms of government was implemented. This began with the, enacted in 1911 by the , which provided for a 3- or 5-member commission elected on a non-partisan basis. This was followed by the, which offered a non-partisan council, provided for a weak mayor elected by and from the members of the council, and introduced with an (ideally apolitical) appointed manager responsible for day-to-day administration of municipal affairs.

The, originally enacted in 1950 and substantially amended in 1981, offers four basic plans: , , , and. The act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs and offers great flexibility in allowing municipalities to select the characteristics of its government: the number of seats on the Council; seats selected at-large, by wards, or through a combination of both; staggered or concurrent terms of office; and a mayor chosen by the Council or elected directly by voters. Most large municipalities and a majority of New Jersey's residents are governed by municipalities with Faulkner Act charters. Municipalities can also formulate their own unique form of government and operate under a with the approval of the.

While municipalities retain their types of government, they may have changed to one of the modern forms of government, or further in the past to one of the other traditional forms, leading to municipalities with formal names quite baffling to the general public. For example, though there are four municipalities that are officially named villages, is the only one remaining with the village form of government. The three other villages&mdash; (now with a Walsh Act form), (now with a Faulkner Act Council-Manager charter), and most confusingly,  (now the Township of South Orange Village) &mdash;have all migrated to other non-village forms.

Political parties
New Jersey was once a politically competitive state in past federal elections but has become a stronghold since the 1980s. In state elections, offices remain competitive; the was evenly divided from 1999 to 2001. Currently, hold the, have majority control of both houses of the  (Senate: 22-18 & Assembly: 49-31), while federal Democrats hold both  seats and also 7 out of 13 of the state's delegation to the. have not won a statewide election since 1997. With the exception of then-Vice President, no Republican has received a majority of the vote in a statewide election since 1985, though the state had a Republican governor from 1994 to 2002, as  won twice with vote percentages of 47 and 49 percent.

New Jersey currently ranks as the worst state in terms of ballot access for new political party formation and growth. This stranglehold held by the Democratic and Republican parties in the state legislature has existed since 1920. In that year, the decades-long conspiracy to prevent new political parties began by requiring 10% of the previous General Assmebly election for a party to obtain full political party status. This scheme has succeded even though it is in violation of the Copenhagen Declaration of the Helsinki Accords signed in 1990 calling for equality amongst political parties. The Green, Conservative and Liberatian Parties have recently another few rights in a consent decree in court.

In federal elections, the state leans heavily towards the national. It was, however, a stronghold for years in the past, having given comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of, , and. New Jersey was a crucial in the elections of, , and. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was in 1979. ( was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor in 1982 after  resigned the Senate seat following the  investigations.)

The state's Democratic strongholds include around  and ;  and, the state's two most urban counties, around the state's two largest cities,  and ;  and most of the other urban communities just outside of  and ; and more suburban northern counties in New York's orbit, such as  and.

The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have backing along the coast in and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially, , and. and, other suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, President received about 52% in Somerset and 60% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush won with 64% of the vote.

About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example,, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with , with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other "swing" counties like tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas.

Social attitudes and issues
Socially, New Jersey is considered one of the most liberal states in the nation. Polls indicate two thirds of the population are self-described as ; and in a  poll of 802 people, a majority supported.

In April 2004, New Jersey enacted a, which is available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples aged 62 and over. Moreover, effective, , New Jersey became the third state in U.S. (the other two being and ) to offer s to same-sex couples, conferring over 850 rights, privileges and responsibilities of marriage; legislators declined, however, to use the term "marriage" for same-sex unions. Thus, three separate government-recognized relationships are now in effect in the Garden State: domestic partnerships, civil unions, and marriage.

New Jersey also has some of the most stringent gun-control laws in the U.S. These includes bans on assault firearms, hollow nose bullets and even slingshots. No gun offense in New Jersey is graded less than a felony. and black powder guns are all treated as modern firearms. Visitors to the state should beware of bringing any firearms into the state. New Jersey recognizes no out of state gun licenses and aggressively enforces its own gun laws.

Large cities (100,000 or greater)
For its overall population and nation-leading density, New Jersey has a relative paucity of classic large cities. As of the, only four municipalities had populations in excess of 100,000. With the 2004 Census estimate, Woodbridge has surpassed Edison in population, as both joined the 100,000 club.
 * 273,546 (Census Estimate 2005: 280,666)
 * 240,055 (Census Estimate 2005: 239,614)
 * 149,222 (Census Estimate 2005: 149,843)
 * 120,568 (Census Estimate 2005: 125,809)
 * 97,687 (Census Estimate 2005: 100,499)
 * 97,203 (Census Estimate 2005: 100,577)

Towns and small cities (60,000 up to 100,000)

 * 89,706 (Census Estimate 2005: 94,590)
 * 87,109
 * 85,403
 * 79,904
 * 78,672
 * 76,119
 * 69,965
 * 69,824
 * 67,861
 * 67,088
 * 66,327
 * 64,350
 * 61,842
 * 60,695
 * 60,456
 * 60,352

Wealth of municipalities
Wealth of municipalities and communities by :

Education
Although some problems exist in certain inner city neighborhoods, New Jersey overall is considered to have one of the best public education systems in the United States. 54% of high school graduates continue on to college, which is tied with for the second highest rate in the nation ( holds first place at 59%). New Jersey also has the highest average scores for advanced placement testing in public schools in the nation. Secretary of Education Rick Rosenberg, appointed by Governor, has created the Education Advancement Initiative (EAI) to increase College admission rates by 10% for New Jersey's high school students, decrease drop out rates by 15%, and increase the amount of money devoted to schools by 10%. Rosenberg was since forced to retract this plan when publicly criticized for taking the money out of healthcare to fund this initiative. New Jersey is ranked first in the nation in funding K-12 education but is ranked last in higher-education funding. New Jersey is home to more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.

Historic sites

 * Crash Site and Monument
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * The
 * 's Tomb and
 * 's Tomb and
 * 's Tomb and

Museums

 * The
 * The
 * The
 * The

Camping and hiking

 * The

Professional sports teams
New Jersey currently has five teams from s playing in the state, although the team and two  teams identify as being from New York.

Three of the state's four major professional sports teams play at the in. The Nets play in the, and the Giants and Jets play in. The Meadowlands and its sports venues are widely considered to be outdated by today's professional sports standards. This led to the Devils move away from the Meadowlands to the new in  at the start of the 2007-08 season. The Nets also have plans to leave the Meadowlands for as soon as the  is completed for them. The Giants and Jets though announced in 2005 that they will be staying in the Meadowlands, and a new stadium for both teams should be ready by the 2010 season. The new stadium is part of the taking shape at the sports complex. The Xanadu Project, when completed in 2008, will be the largest retail and entertainment complex in New Jersey.

The sports complex is also home to the one of three major  tracks in the state. The Meadowlands Racetrack along with in  are two of the major  tracks in North America. in, is also a popular spot for in New Jersey and the northeast. It will host the in 2007, and its turf course was recently renovated in preparation.

Gambling
In 1978, the New Jersey legislature approved casino gambling in. At that time, Las Vagas was the only mega-casino resort. By 1978, Atlantic City was in decline. It was no longer the seaside resort that it once was. With the institution of casino gambling, Atlantic City has come back as a resort city.

Trivia

 * , assigned to Bergen and Hudson Counties, was the first area code assigned as part of the.
 * New Jersey was recently rated one of the most excellent U.S. States to visit by Zagat's, second only to Ohio.
 * New Jersey has the lowest rate of depression in the United States found by a study from NAMI National Alliance on Mental Illness(www.nami.com)
 * In an April 12, 2007 car accident, Corzine was the third straight New Jersey governor to break a leg while in office. James E. McGreevey broke his left leg in 2002 during a nighttime walk on the beach, and Christie Whitman broke her right leg while skiing in the Swiss Alps in 1999.
 * New Jersey has the largest grove of cherry blossom trees in the United States, eclipsing the more famous one in Washington D.C.
 * The, one of the most decorated vessels in the , was named in honor of this state and is now a in.
 * New Jersey is the birthplace of many modern inventions such as:, the motion picture camera, the , the , s, and the electric train. Other New Jersey creations include: the drive-in movie, the cultivated , cranberry sauce, the postcard, the , the zipper, the , , the dirigible, the seedless watermelon, the of a  in warfare, and the ice cream cone.
 * , the brother of, lived for 17 years in the town of.
 * New Jersey is home to the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world: at  theme park in.
 * The first officially recorded game in history was played at the Elysian Fields,, with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the  with a score of 23-1.  formalized the  and.
 * The first intercollegiate football game in history was played in on, , with home team  defeating  6-4.   is considered "The Birthplace of College Football."
 * The properties in the United States version of the board game are named after the streets of Atlantic City.
 * The four-mile (6 km) long Boardwalk in Atlantic City was the world's first boardwalk and is still its largest.
 * The drama unfolded in New Jersey in 1932.
 * New Jersey was the national pioneer of sex offender registries, following the 1994 rape and murder of.
 * New Jersey has more s per square mile than any other state. The now is headquartered in  after being founded in.
 * The book  by, which inspired the classic film of the same name, was based on a series of actual that took place in  and elsewhere off the.
 * s are common in New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has more diners than any other state: over 600. There are more Diners in the state of New Jersey than any other place in the world.
 * settled in, and did most of his work there. The art building at is named after him.
 * Sculptor grew up in  where he also opened his gallery, Iron Butterfly, before moving it to . Jim Gary was the only living  ever invited to have a solo show at the ’s .
 * New Jersey is one of only two states (along with ) where filling of gasoline is prohibited.
 * The world's highest quality fluorescent minerals and the most number of minerals found in any one location is located in . There are mineral museums in Franklin and Ogdensburg.
 * New Jersey is the only state without a state song. "I'm From New Jersey" is incorrectly listed on many websites as being the New Jersey State Song, but wasn't even a contender when in 1996 the  submitted their suggestions to the.

Legends and ghosts
A long-circulated legend says a creature, the or the Leeds Devil, terrorizes the population of the. The are named for this mythical creature. New Jersey is also home to several other legends, such as the ghost of in  and the haunted and demon-possessed  in. There is also the &mdash;the ghost of a little boy runs across the street late at night in. It is also rumored that, the late leader of the Union, is buried beneath  or the. However, on the popular television show , the myth of Jimmy Hoffa being buried under Giants Stadium was debunked using.

The magazine ' (the creators of which later started ') was started to catalog and explore the ghosts, legends, and prevalence of otherwise "weird" things in the state.

Newspapers
There are 14 major New Jersey newspapers including ', ', ', The Times, the ' (Monmouth and Ocean County), the ', The Express-Times, Gloucester County Times, Bridgeton News, Today's Sunbeam, Hunterdon County Democrat, The Warren Reporter, The Reporter (Somerset), Independent Press, Cranford Chronicle, The Record-Press and Suburban News, the ' (Mercer), the  (Morris). , and .

Television and film

 * In the 1996 science fiction film  the scene in which Jeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch are playing chess was filmed in, NJ.
 * technology was invented in New Jersey, by . The early work was done at his West Orange laboratory. His "" was the first motion picture studio.
 * More recent motion pictures and television shows also have been set in New Jersey:
 * The popular television drama  depicts the life of a New Jersey family and is filmed on location at various places throughout the state.
 * , starring was filmed in  in 2000.
 * The 1979 film  was filmed in and the scene in the church is filmed in.
 * The popular television show  is set in a fictional hospital located in the - area. (The exterior shots of the "hospital" are actually shots of the exterior of 's .)
 * Another FOX show,  was based on a fictional version of the town. (It was not shot on location within the actual town of the same name.)
 * Cartoon Network's cartoon  and  cartoon  both take place in New Jersey.
 * The opening of the popular comedy  was filmed in Hillsdale and.
 * Cable network originates most of its in-studio programming from, while sister network  broadcasts the bulk of its in-studio programming from.
 * All of 's movies take place in New Jersey (though not all of them are filmed there), as Smith grew up in.
 * The popular character The is often touted as the first superhero from New Jersey.
 * in was the location of the original ' movie (some believe the series of films to be set in New Jersey, although this is never confirmed onscreen), which was partially based on real murders that have occurred near the campground, in the state's rural northwest. Such horror stories were the inspiration behind the now nationally famous ' magazine and website.
 * In the animated television comedy , New Jersey is slandered many times by the characters. In one episode, Fry finds a seemingly ideal apartment in New Jersey while house hunting, but later comments that he found "not one place even remotely liveable". In another, when discussing the global garbage problem, a television ad states that "...landfills were full...New Jersey was full...", implying a lack of places to store garbage. Additionally,  is located in Atlantic City.
 * In the of War of the Worlds, the beginning of the movie is set in New Jersey, a homage to the.

Music
New Jersey has long been an important area for both and  music. Some prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey are:
 * Singer was born in . He sang with a neighborhood vocal group, the Hoboken Four, and appeared in neighborhood theater amateur shows before he became an entertainment legend as an  winning actor and one of the most famous male vocalists of all time.
 * , who has sung of New Jersey life on most of his albums, hails from and is the most popular rock musician to ever come out of the state. Some of his songs that represent New Jersey life are "," "Spirit In The Night," "," "," "," and "."
 * 's was the first female rapper to succeed in music, film, and television.
 * is from . Her 1998 debut solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, sold 10 million copies internationally. She also sold millions with second album.
 * (Reggie Noble) was born, raised, and resides in . He is the most successful African-American solo hip-hop artist out of New Jersey.
 * All members of were born in.
 * , who hails from, reached fame in the 1980s with hard rock outfit . The band has also written many songs about life in New Jersey including "Livin' On A Prayer" and even named one of his albums after the state. (see )
 * Singer was born in.
 * Singer (who is Dionne Warwick's cousin)  was born in, and grew up in neighboring.
 * Legendary pianist and   was born in  in 1904. In the 1960s, he collaborated on several albums with fellow New Jersey native . The  in Red Bank is named in his honor.
 * , the pioneering funk music collective, was formed in by.
 * is home of, which and  frequented early in their careers and is still considered by many to be a "Mecca" for up-and-coming  musicians.
 * pioneers hail from.
 * In 1964, founded the record label, named after , their home at the time.
 * The  "" is based on the lives of the members of the, three of whose members were born in New Jersey (, , and )
 * Famous  was born in  in 1929.
 * Horror punk band hail from, as well as their founder.
 * Punk rock poet is from.
 * Acclaimed indie rock veterans are based in . They also have a song called "The Night Falls on Hoboken".
 * New Jersey was the hub for ska music in the 90's. Some of the most popular ska bands, such as and, come from.
 * Black Label Society's and Ozzy Osbourne's famed guitarist was born in  and raised in
 * The all reside in Wyckoff, New Jersey, where the eldest brother of the group,  was born, as well as the youngest Jonas, Frankie.
 * original four members grew up in and formed in  in the late 1980's.
 * 's, , , and all hail from New Jersey.
 * frontman Gabe Saporta is from New Jersey