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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
In June 1776 the fourth Provincial Congress of New Jersey had transformed itself into a constitutional convention and on July z adopted a
combined declaration of independence and constitution. The hastily drawn
document provided for its nullification "if a reconciliation between Great
Britain and these colonies should take place. . . ." Nevertheless, this constitution was retained for 68 years. The Colony's long struggle with Proprietary and Royal Governors inspired a provision for annual election of
the Governor by the legislature. This arrangement, at first adopted by several other States, obviously violated the prevailing theory of separation of
powers (executive, legislative, and judicial) in a free government. New
Jersey's first State Governor, William Livingston, was elected August 27,
1776, for one year.
In the two-house legislature, the upper chamber (the council) was com-
posed of one representative from each county, a precedent for equal county
representation in the senate under the present constitution. The lower
house (the assembly) was apportioned among the counties roughly by
population.
The franchise was limited to "all inhabitants of this colony, of full age,
who are worth £50 proclamation money . . ." Under laws passed in 1790
and 1797, women were permitted to vote. In 1807, however, the women
were disfranchised by a statute justified as "highly necessary to the safety,
quiet, good order and dignity of the State." This harsh stricture came
from a legislature beset with charges of fraudulent voting by women,
notably in an exciting referendum on the location of the Essex County
Courthouse. Another 1807 statute reduced voting qualifications by giving
the franchise to any taxpayer.
For brief periods, two New Jersey towns had the honor of being the
National Capital-at least the temporary capital. When, in June 1783,
Congress in session at Philadelphia was confronted by mutinous troops,
demanding what it could not give, the session was adjourned to meet
again on June 3o, at Princeton. There, in somewhat cramped quarters, the
National Government remained seated until November 4. A year later,
November 1, 1784, Congress convened at Trenton. It was even thought
that a "Federal town" -- a permanent National Capital -- would be built
near Trenton. The plan however never materialized-New York and
Philadelphia were too powerful -- and the Congressional session at Trenton
was very brief. Congress adjourned on Christmas Eve of 1784 to meet
again a fortnight later in New York City.
New Jersey in the days after the Revolution was grimly compared to a
keg tapped at both ends. The State's economy was seriously hampered by
a
commercial restrictions imposed by New York, through which most of the
State's goods had to pass. Her representatives demanded that Congress be
given power over interstate commerce and the exclusive right to lay duties
on imports. When New York and other States failed to meet their fiscal
obligations to the weak Congress, New Jersey also withheld payments to
the Federal Treasury, hoping to force more co-operative action. Finally,
New Jersey was one of the five States that participated in the Annapolis
Conference of 1786, which led to the Constitutional Convention at
Philadelphia in 1787.
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