New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east, the Hudson River, Sandy Hook Bay, Long Island and the Atlantic Ocean. Delaware borders New Jersey only on the southwestern side, and Pennsylvania lies to the west of New Jersey. New Jersey lies largely within the sprawling metropolitan areas of New York and Philadelphia. It is the most densely populated state in the United States.
Inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, the first European settlements in the area were established by the Swedes and Dutch in the early 1600s. The English later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey, which was granted to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton as a colony. At this time, the name was taken from the largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Paterson and Trenton helped to drive the Industrial Revolution. New Jersey's position at the center of the Northeast Corridor, between Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., fueled its rapid growth through the suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond. Today, New Jersey has the highest population density and the second highest median income of any state in the United States. Only Maryland has a higher median income. |
