4-30 The State of New Jersey

The great state of New Jersey became the 3^rd state in the Union on December 18, 1787.  Its state capital is Trenton.

The first European to explore New Jersey was Giovanni de Verrazano, from Florence, Italy.  He sailed along the Jersey coast and anchored off Sandy Hook in 1524.  In 1609, Henry Hudson arrived and New Netherlands, a Dutch colony, was established in 1624 in what was then called 'the northeast territory.  In 1664, the land was taken over by the British.  King Charles II gave the area to his brother James, Duke of York.  New Jersey was named by James, Duke of York.  James later gave New Jersey to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.  James named the colony New Jersey to honor Carteret, who had been the Governor of Jersey, a British island in the English Channel.

More than 100 battles took place on New Jersey soil during the Revolutionary War.  In 1776, Washington crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessian garrison at Trenton.  A few days after the new year, he defeated a British force at Princeton.  Washington's army spent the winter of that year and the 1779-80 winter in Morristown.  New Jersey was the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and the first to ratify the Bill of Rights in 1789.

Emblem/Symbol	Name of Emblem/Symbol	Adopted
Motto	"Liberty and Prosperity"
Nickname	Garden State
State Seal		1777
State Bird	Eastern Goldfinch	1935
State Flower	Common Meadow Violet	1972
State Flag		1896
State Tree	Red Oak	1950
State Fish	Brook Trout	1991
State Insect	Honeybee	1974
State Tall Ship	A. J. Meerwald	1998
State Animal	Horse	1977
State Shell	Knobbed Whelk	1995
State Fruit	Highbush Blueberry	2003

Complete the questions below.

1.  New Jersey became the 3^rd state in the Union on December 18, .

2.  The state motto is "."

3.  The state insect is the .

4.  The state animal is the .

5.  Washington crossed the Delaware and defeated the Hessian garrison at , the state capital.

6.  The state nickname is the .

7.  The state tree is the .

8.  Knobbed Whelk is the state .

9.  A. J. Meerwald is the state .

10.  was the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.