Editing New Jersey (section)

===Revolutionary War era===
{{Main|American Revolutionary War|Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War|New Jersey in the American Revolution|Lee Resolution|United States Declaration of Independence|Philadelphia campaign|Articles of Confederation#Ratification|Treaty of Paris (1783)|Constitutional Convention (United States)|Admission to the Union|List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union}}
[[File:Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, MMA-NYC, 1851.jpg|thumb|''[[Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851 painting)|Washington Crossing the Delaware]]'', an 1851 portrait by [[Emanuel Leutze]] depicting [[George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|Washington's covert crossing the Delaware River]] from [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]] to [[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer County]] on December 25, 1776, prior to the [[Battle of Trenton]]]]
[[File:Princetonwashington.jpg|thumb|''Washington Rallying the Americans at the Battle of Princeton'', a portrait by [[William Ranney]] depicting [[George Washington]] rallying [[Continental Army]] troops at the [[Battle of Princeton]] in January 1777]]
New Jersey was one of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] that revolted against British rule in the [[American Revolution]]. The [[s:New Jersey Constitution of 1776|New Jersey Constitution of 1776]] was passed July 2, 1776, just two days before the [[Second Continental Congress]] declared American Independence from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. It was an act of the [[Provincial Congress of New Jersey|Provincial Congress]], which made itself into the [[New Jersey Legislature|State Legislature]]. To reassure neutrals, it provided that the legislature would disband if New Jersey reached reconciliation with Great Britain. Among the 56 [[Founding Fathers]] who signed the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], five were New Jersey representatives: [[Richard Stockton (Continental Congressman)|Richard Stockton]], [[John Witherspoon]], [[Francis Hopkinson]], [[John Hart (New Jersey politician)|John Hart]], and [[Abraham Clark]].

During the [[American Revolutionary War]], British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times, and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Because of this, New Jersey today is sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the American Revolution".<ref>{{cite web|title=About Crossroads of the American Revolution|url=http://revolutionarynj.org/about-crossroads-of-the-american-revolution/|publisher=Crossroads of the American Revolution|access-date=November 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104192948/http://revolutionarynj.org/about-crossroads-of-the-american-revolution/|archive-date=November 4, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The winter quarters of the [[Continental Army]] were established in New Jersey twice by General [[George Washington]] in [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]], which has been called "The Military Capital of the American Revolution."<ref>{{cite web|title=The Military Capital of the American Revolution|url=http://www.visitnj.org/article/military-capital-american-revolution|publisher=New Jersey Tourism|date=February 2014|access-date=November 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105231335/http://www.visitnj.org/article/military-capital-american-revolution|archive-date=November 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the night of December 25–26, 1776, the Continental Army under [[Washington's crossing of the Delaware River|George Washington crossed the Delaware River]]. After the crossing, they surprised and defeated the [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessian troops]] in the [[Battle of Trenton]]. Slightly more than a week after victory at [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]], Continental Army forces gained an important victory by stopping [[Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis|General Cornwallis's]] charges at the [[Second Battle of Trenton]]. By evading Cornwallis's army, the Continental Army was able to make a surprise attack on [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] and successfully defeated the British forces there on January 3, 1777. [[Emanuel Leutze]]'s painting of ''[[Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851 painting)|Washington Crossing the Delaware]]'' became an icon of the Revolution.

Continental Army forces under Washington's command met British forces under General [[Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)|Henry Clinton]] at the [[Battle of Monmouth]] in an indecisive engagement in June 1778. Washington's forces attempted to take the British column by surprise. When the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Continental Army retreated in disorder. Their ranks were later reorganized and withstood British charges.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200003296/ Battle of Monmouth: The Longest Battle of the American Revolution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127115945/http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/legacies/loc.afc.afc-legacies.200003296/ |date=January 27, 2023 }}, [[Library of Congress]]. Retrieved July 15, 2022. "Visitors to the Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold, New Jersey, can witness a battle reenactment that recalls the hot summer day of June 28, 1778, when American and British forces clashed under the direction of Continental Army General George Washington and British General Sir Henry Clinton."</ref>

In the summer of 1783, the [[Continental Congress]] met in [[Nassau Hall]] at [[Princeton University]], making [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] the nation's capital for four months. It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]], which ended the war.

On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the [[United States Constitution]], which was overwhelmingly popular in New Jersey since it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging [[tariff]]s on goods imported from Europe. On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first in the newly formed Union to ratify the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]].<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/archives/docusconstitution.html United States Constitution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705183803/https://www.nj.gov/state/archives/docusconstitution.html |date=July 5, 2022 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Retrieved July 15, 2022. "On December 18, 1787, New Jersey become the third state to ratify the United States Constitution. The minutes of the ratification convention document the quick work of the delegates. The delegates required only six days to establish rules, review the document, and complete their deliberations.... On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights."</ref>

The 1776 [[Constitution of New Jersey|New Jersey State Constitution]] gave the vote to all inhabitants who had a certain level of wealth. This included women and Black people, but not married women because they were not legally permitted to own property separately from their husbands. Both sides, in several elections, claimed that the other side had had unqualified women vote and mocked them for use of petticoat electors, whether entitled to vote or not; on the other hand, both parties passed Voting Rights Acts. In 1807, legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal white male [[suffrage]], excluding paupers; the constitution was itself an act of the legislature and not enshrined as the modern constitution.<ref>Klinghoffer and Elkis ("The Petticoat Electors: Women's Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807", ''Journal of the Early Republic'' 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.)</ref>