NEW JERSEY, FLAG OF

U.S. state flag consisting of a background of buff (light tan) with the state coat of arms in the centre. The state flag was adopted on March 26, 1896, and in 1938 a law clarified that the right to display the flag was not limited to the governor alone. It is the only flag of the 50 state flags to have a background of buff, although frequently this is incorrectly shown as yellow. The colour is based on the facings of uniforms worn by New Jersey regiments during the Revolutionary War (177583). Like the other original states, New Jersey had its colours assigned in a directive of October 2, 1779, by George Washington, then commander in chief of the Continental Army. The choice of buff for the facings of New Jersey and New York may have been meant to recall the former Dutch colony of New Netherlands, although this symbolic association is unproved. It is based on a presumption that the orange of the earliest Dutch flags was modified by Washington to buff as a more appropriate colour for use in uniforms. The coat of arms appears in the centre of the New Jersey flag and is also found in the state seal. It may have been designed by Francis Hopkinson, who was a member of the Continental Congress, or by the artist Pierre Eugne du Simitire before being adopted by the state legislature on October 3, 1776. The three plows on the coat of arms stand for agriculture, which is also represented by the goddess Ceres (one of the supporters). The other supporter is Liberty. The horse's head in the crest was shown on early New Jersey coins. Whitney Smith History The colony Before the Europeans came, the Delaware (or Lenni Lenape) Indians had long occupied the region. In 1524 the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, was the first European to reach New Jersey. Almost a century passed before colonization began with the arrival in 1609 of the English navigator Henry Hudson, who sent a party to explore Sandy Hook Bay. The first permanent European settlement was at Bergen (now Jersey City) in 1660. The colony was brought under English rule in 1664, although for the next five years the Dutch disputed that claim. In 1676 the province was divided into East and West Jersey, the former going to Sir George Carteret and the latter to a group of Quakers. The division continued until 1702, when all of the province reverted to the crown. Unlike other colonists, who suffered from the harshness of English rule, the early Jerseyans were of such an independent nature that it was the royal governors who did much of the suffering. Until 1738 New Jersey and New York were ruled by a single governor. When Lewis Morris took office as the first governor of New Jersey alone, one member of the Assembly advised his colleagues on how governors should be treated: Let us keep the doges poore and wee'll make them do as we please. Revolution and statehood Considerable division occurred within the state over the American Revolution, and Tory activity was heavy. The most significant battle of the conflict was fought in New Jersey on Dec. 26, 1776. General George Washington and his hungry, ragged troops crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania in so-called Durham boats (shallow-draft freight vessels), surprised the garrison of German mercenaries in Trenton, and captured the city. A week later, Washington won another vital battle at Princeton, routing the British forces under Colonel Charles Mawhood. The victories breathed new life into the Revolution, and an army of colonials near despair was transformed into an effective fighting force. Between the Revolutionary and Civil wars, New Jersey underwent tremendous industrial development, largely abetted by the construction of canals and, later, railroads. The railroads, in particular the Camden and Amboy (forerunner of the Penn Central), played a crucial role in the state's political life, dominating and controlling legislators and governors during the robber baron era of industrial expansion in the 19th century. Accommodating tax laws of that era gave New Jersey the epithet The Mother of Trusts: one-half of the nation's largest corporations made their headquarters in the state. Public dissatisfaction with the power of the trusts and public utilities helped pave the way for the election of Woodrow Wilson as governor in 1910. Industrial growth continued during and after World Wars I and II, and, until the mid-20th century, the growing decay of the cities was overlooked amid the general prosperity brought by industry. James Kerney, Jr. John McLaughlin Peter O. Wacker