Revolutionary War and Statehood

William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son, was royal governor of New Jersey when the Continental Congress was called in 1774. He refused to send delegates to it, and the following year the patriots deposed him. In 1776 New Jersey adopted a constitution and declared itself an independent state.

During the Revolutionary War, New Jersey—because of its strategic position between the Hudson and Delaware rivers— was the scene of nearly 100 battles and skirmishes. Most crucial were the battle of Trenton, following Washington's crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night of 1776, and the victory at Princeton the next month. The indecisive battle at Monmouth Court House was fought in 1778. The Continental Army spent the winter of 1779–80 at Morris-town, suffering during the severest winter of the century. After the war, the Confederation Congress met at Princeton in 1783 and in Trenton in 1784.

At the Constitutional Convention in 1787 the New Jersey delegation introduced what was called the New Jersey Plan. This was a proposal for giving all states equal representation in Congress, as opposed to the Virginia Plan for representation based on population. The Constitution, as finally drafted, was a compromise of the two plans. New Jersey was the third state to ratify. In 1790 Trenton was made the permanent state capital.