New Jersey is a small state with a huge impact. Millions of people call it home, and many more have connections to the Garden State, whether through longstanding family ties or newcomers moving here to attend one of its renowned colleges and universities, work in its many industries, or raise families. Despite being one of the most densely populated states in the nation, new jersey maintains large areas of open space, including the beaches along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the vast pine forests of the state’s southern three-fifths (the Pine Barrens), and the sand-filled barrier islands of the south central coast.
The state’s rich soil fueled an agricultural economy that made New Jersey the leader in food production at the end of the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War, its strategic location between British-held Manhattan and the rebel capital in Philadelphia made it the site of more revolutionary battles and skirmishes than any other colony. Its people have also embraced progressive social, economic, and political agendas and were among the first to embrace ideas around inalienable rights and self-government.
The state is now a major transportation hub, with a crowded and busy metropolitan area that serves as a major gateway between the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic states. This industrialization has come at a cost, however, in environmental pollution and high poverty rates. New Jersey’s citizens have also fought for civil rights and labor reform.
The influx of immigrants has created a diverse population in the state, including New Yorkers migrating here for jobs and wealth in the 20th century, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics, African Americans from the South who came here to find work during the Great Migration, and Japanese Americans displaced by the closure of their incarceration camps in the wake of World War II. Many of the state’s residents have also experienced economic prosperity, thanks to affordable housing developments, GI Bill benefits, and cutting-edge transportation systems. But disparities in income, housing, and opportunity persist — for example, because of discrimination against African American veterans of the war, restrictive covenants, and redlining practices by real estate agents.
Throughout the state, wildlife thrives in the Pine Barrens and on its beaches, with mammals including black bears, bobcats, and raccoons. Birds include chickadees, northern cardinals, and red-bellied woodpeckers. Reptiles include spotted and five-lined skinks, and amphibians such as New Jersey chorus frogs and marbled salamanders. Wildflowers like queen Anne’s lace, orange daylilies, and violets are native to the state.