New Jersey: A History of the Garden State

by Maxine N. Lurie (Contributor), Michael J. Birkner (Contributor), Howard Gillette (Contributor)

New A History of the Garden State presents a fresh, comprehensive overview of New Jersey’s history from the prehistoric era to the present. The findings of archaeologists, political, social, and economic historians provide a new look at how the Garden State has evolved. The state has a rich Native American heritage and complex colonial history. It played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, early industrialization, and technological developments in transportation, including turnpikes, canals, and railroads. The nineteenth century saw major debates over slavery. While no Civil War battles were fought in New Jersey, most residents supported it while questioning the policies of the federal government. Next, the contributors turn to industry, urbanization, and the growth of shore communities. A destination for immigrants, New Jersey continued to be one of the most diverse states in the nation. Many of these changes created a host of social problems that reformers tried to minimize during the Progressive Era. Settlement houses were established, educational institutions grew, and utopian communities were founded. Most notably, women gained the right to vote in 1920. In the decades leading up to World War II, New Jersey benefited from back-to-work projects, but the rise of the local Ku Klux Klan and the German American Bund were sad episodes during this period.

The story then moves to the rise of suburbs, the concomitant decline of the state’s cities, growing population density, and changing patterns of wealth. Deep-seated racial inequities led to urban unrest as well as political change, including such landmark legislation as the Mount Laurel decision. Today, immigration continues to shape the state, as does the tension between the needs of the suburbs, cities, and modest amounts of remaining farmland. Well-known personalities, such as Jonathan Edwards, George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, Dorothea Dix, Thomas Edison, Frank Hague, and Albert Einstein appear in the narrative. Contributors also mine new and existing sources to incorporate fully scholarship on women, minorities, and immigrants. All chapters are set in the context of the history of the United States as a whole, illustrating how New Jersey is often a bellwether for the nation..

Genres: History, American History, Archaeology

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 2012

Reviews

[Peter Talbot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb series of essays on New Jersey history. A short work with great notes that is amazingly inclusive for its length. This may be the best "survey" history intro to New Jersey history I have ever seen. It doesn't go deep, but it provides notes for the student to do so. A great reference. Latest time period covered (contemporary NJ) by Rutgers/Camden Prof. Gillette already needs to be updated in 2020.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Read-a-History-of-Every-State-in-Order-of-Statehood #3

This is a fine volume to start with if your only exposure to the Garden State is Jersey Shore or track suits and gold chains. Editors Lurie and Veit, NJ historians in their own right, try to fill in a multi-decade gap since any history of the state worth a crap has appeared and largely succeed, although the Jersey newbie might feel like more is needed.
Various contributors present a pretty straightforward history of the state, each covering a particular time period. As the field is largely fresh, the first section on Native American folks in the area will feel the most lacking, but it's no fault of the contributor. Ensuing chapters focus on Colonial New Jersey, Jersey during the Revolution, Jersey during the Jacksonian era, Jersey in the Civil War (you'll be surprised how un-into the northern cause, Jerseyites were!), Jersey in the Progressive Era (with a great focus on industrialization, urbanization, and the Hague machine, probably the best section), and obligatory bits on WW2 and the Depression. A final chapter on the breakdown of NJ's cities and the move of commerce and the economy into the suburbs ends the work on a rather down note.
All in all, this is an informative volume. I've only ever driven through Jersey and have never really heard much about it, good or bad, except for the usual jokes. I was struck by the focus on the famous Jersey fickleness and apparent distaste for commitment to anything beyond its borders. Very much an individual state, even during the colonial period, the British had a helluva time taxing or getting soldiers out of the local government. Jersey's ethnic mix and accident of geography made it second fiddle and flyover country to the more dominant NYC and Philly, and the level of conservative feeling, if we can call it that, especially when it came to slavery and social rights, is surprising for a Northern state.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 4 out of 5]

"New Jersey: A History of the Garden State" edited by Maxine Lurie & Richard Veit is a 10 essay look at the history of the state of New Jersey and its rather "unique" place in the history of United States. As someone who has not yet visited this state (I hope to in 2025), I learned a lot of things that are again not mentioned in the history books including the state's early division in 2 as a colony to some of the at times racist sentiments of the state during the Civil War. The authors do a decent job exploring this history as well as the consequences of those periods in epilogues to these essays. Being as the fact there isn't 1 consistent author to me is a bit of a hindrance to this book; however, it doesn't diminish the lessons about America & the role our nation's 3rd state played along with its struggles to this day.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough overview of the history of NJ, written by various authors focusing on their specialties. Interesting.

[Flash Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and useful, but doesn’t attempt to be objective.

[JoAnn Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I needed to know about my home state but never learned in history class- Wow!

[Kruunch · Rating 2 out of 5]

So you expect any history book that is around 300 pages long to be fairly abbreviated barring it being the history of something that takes less than 300 pages to describe and/or analyze.

New Jersey: A History of the Garden State is amazingly abbreviated ... almost to the point that it reads like "A long time ago, something happened ... and it's still happening today."

What this book does well is give a *very* general overview of NJ past and present. What it doesn't do well is keep the reader engaged. It's essay style of writing could cure insomnia ... in dead people.

Overall, while finding some useful nuggets, this book glosses over (or outright fails to mention) too much to be considered anything more than a superficial primer.

Meh.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to this publication, over 600 battles and skirmishes took place on NJ soil during the Revolution. That is an estimate, but a very impressive one.