New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans over 2,000 years before the establishment of the Europeans. The Dutch were the first to form colonies there. New Jersey was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Indians at the time the Europeans arrived. The Lenni Lenape tribe was an organized group that spread throughout northern America and parts of Canada. They were skilled hunters and proficient in agriculture. Their largest crop was corn. The Lenni Lenape tribe was divided into three groups that were identified with animal signs - Wolf, Turtle, and Turkey. 

Although the original settlers in New Jersey were the Dutch, most of the history starts with the colonies of England. New Jersey was a grant from King Charles II, which was given to his only brother James Stewart. Soon after that James donated some land to his two close friends, Lord Berkeley and George Carteret, which then became the land known as New Jersey. Quakers quickly purchased both pieces of land and created West and East New Jersey, which became one territory during the ruling of the Empire of England in 1702.

After the Boston Tea Party, the Revolutionary War began. New Jersey was one of the thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British. During the war, armies from both sides crossed into the territory multiple times, resulting in bloodshed. This is when New Jersey acquired its nickname, “The Crossroads of the Revolution.” Morristown was the headquarters of the army during the war. In 1783, the Continental Congress conducted a meeting at the University of Princeton, making it the nation’s capital. After the war, New Jersey became the third state of the United States of America.

Today, New jersey has the largest number of shopping malls, densest system of railroads and highways and is considered the dining capital of the world. New Jersey ranks 11th for the amount of people and is also the most densely populated state in America according to the census.