This northeastern U.S. state has 130 miles of Atlantic coast. Inland from the Big Apple, it is home to the historic Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the picturesque town of Jersey City. The coastline has many notable resort towns, including Asbury Park with its Victorian architecture. There are also several notable golf courses. Whether you’re looking for golf courses or a scenic view of the water, New Jersey is a great place to vacation.
Historically, New Jersey was a Republican stronghold, but today it has become a Democrat’s paradise. In fact, the Democratic Party controls both houses of the state legislature, and holds a majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Though there have been Republican governors in the past, there are more Democratic leaders now than ever before. As of 2014, the population of the state was 262,146, the largest increase since the 1950s.
Prior to European contact, the region was inhabited by Native Americans. They built villages along the Delaware River, spending much of their time farming and hunting. The Dutch explorer Henry Hudson claimed the area in 1609, and in 1664 it joined with New York as a British colony. In 1738, the two states merged and became separate. While they share many of the same history, these states are also cultural hubs, with numerous art galleries, museums, and halls of fame.
The state has a rich history of diversity. One-sixth of the pharmaceuticals manufactured in the United States are manufactured in New Jersey. The state is home to a number of famous sports teams and is a major contributor to the state’s economy. The Lenni-Lenape Indians established their first reservation in Burlington County in 1758. The rest of the tribe eventually moved to New Stockbridge, New York.
While New Jersey has some unusual weather, the state has a diversified climate. The Northeastern region is close to New York City, where up to one million people commute daily to work. Northwestern New Jersey is less densely populated and is mostly wooded and mountainous. While most of the state’s population lives in urban areas, some parts of the state are rural. In fact, there are no towns in the northern part of the state with the smallest population.
New Jersey was one of the first states in the union to ban slavery. On February 15, 1804, the state abolished slavery in the state. However, it did not outlaw existing slavery. At the close of the Civil War, about a dozen black men and women were still held in bondage in New Jersey. In 1858, William Parker Foulke unearthed the first dinosaur skeleton in the United States, in Haddonfield. Hadrosaurus foulkii proved that dinosaurs existed and that they could walk, and it became the first dinosaur skeleton discovered in the world.