The story of New Jersey goes back to the very beginnings of the American Colonies. In the early 17th century the area was settled by the Dutch, and in the same century, the first log cabins in America were built there by Swedish colonists. During the American Revolution New Jersey was the chief link between the two cities that later became the first and second capitals of the new nation--New York City and Philadelphia. Four major battles of the Revolution were fought on its soil. When the United States Constitution was being drafted, the New Jersey plan of government was advanced to protect the rights of the smaller states. From this plan came the provision for equal representation of all the states in the United States Senate.
One of the smallest states in size, New Jersey is one of the largest in population. Although it ranks only 46th in area, its more than 7 million people make it the ninth largest state in population. Nearly nine tenths of this total live in cities and towns, the highest percentage of any state. For every square mile New Jersey has an average of 1,030.3 persons--a figure that is larger than that of any other state.
New Jersey's largely urban population is for the most part due to its strong emphasis on manufacturing. This, in turn, developed largely because of the state's favorable location between the cities that became two of the nation's largest commercial and population centers--New York City and Philadelphia. To serve these giant markets, New Jersey has excellent railroads, highways, and waterways. It also has some of the busiest ports in the world for handling ocean traffic. In the northeast, opposite New York City, there are ports at Newark and Elizabeth. Camden is a port city in the southwest, separated from Philadelphia by the Delaware River.
Despite its reputation as an industrial state, New Jersey takes its nickname from its farmland. It is called the Garden State in recognition of the many truck farms that feed residents in New Jersey and nearby states. It also has many scenic areas in the rural sections away from New York City.
New Jersey is one of the Middle Atlantic states. Its northern neighbor is New York. To the west it is separated from Pennsylvania and Delaware by the Delaware River and Bay. To the south is Delaware Bay and to the east, the Atlantic Ocean. In its northeastern corner New Jersey is separated from New York City by four different bodies of water--the Hudson River; Arthur Kill, which runs along the western shore of Staten Island; and Kill Van Kull, which flows north of the island into Upper New York Bay. (Kill is from a Dutch word meaning channel.) Thus, except for 50 miles (80 kilometers) in the north the state is entirely surrounded by water. From north to south New Jersey's greatest length is 167 miles (269 kilometers). Its greatest width is 75 miles (121 kilometers). At its waist, however, the state narrows to 35 miles (56 kilometers)--from Trenton northeastward to the head of Raritan Bay. The total area is 7,836 square miles (20,295 square kilometers), including 315 square miles (816 square kilometers) of inland water surface. From Sandy Hook to Cape May the Atlantic coastline measures 130 miles (210 kilometers).
