page_title: History of New Jersey
section_title: Industrial Revolution
hierarchical_section_title: History of New Jersey / Nineteenth century / Industrial Revolution
caption_attribution_description: English: Great Falls of the Passaic River in Paterson © 2004 Matthew Trump
context_page_description: The story of the area of present-day New Jersey begins at the end of the Younger Dryas, about 15,000 years ago. Native Americans moved into New Jersey soon after the reversal of the Younger Dryas; before then an ice sheet hundreds of feet thick had made the area of northern New Jersey uninhabitable.
  European contact began with the exploration of the Jersey Shore by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. At the time of European contact, many tribes of the Lenape lived in the area.
  In the 17th century, the New Jersey region came under the control of the Swedes and the Dutch, resulting in a struggle in which the Dutch proved victorious. However, the English seized the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664. New Jersey became one of the Thirteen Colonies which broke away from Britain in the American Revolution, adopting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Becoming a state upon the formation of the United States, New Jersey saw significant action during the American Revolutionary War. New Jersey's delegates signed the Articles of Confederation in 1779 and Princeton acted as the nation's capital for four months in 1783.
context_section_description: The economy of New Jersey was largely based on agriculture, but crop failures and poor soil plagued the settlers of New Jersey. However, New Jersey eventually funded publications in the early 1850s of accurate agriculture-related surveys through the effort of George Hammell Cook. The publication of this survey helped to increase the state's involvement in agricultural research and direct support to farmers. As agriculture became a less reliable source of income for New Jerseyans, many began turning towards more industrialized methods.
  Paterson became the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in America. Energy was harnessed from the 77 feet (23 m) high Great Falls of the Passaic River. The city became an important site for mills and other industries. These include the textile, firearms, silk, and railroad locomotive manufacturing industries. Because of its high silk production, it became nicknamed the "Silk City". In 1835, Samuel Colt began producing firearms in the city.
  The second version of the New Jersey State Constitution was written in 1844. The constitution provided suffrage only to white males, removing it from all women and from people of other races. Suffrage had been awarded to those groups under the original New Jersey State Constitution of 1776. Some important components of the second State Constitution include the separation of the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The new constitution also provided a bill of rights. Underneath the constitution, the people had the right to elect the governor.
  The famous inventor Thomas Edison was born in 1847. Edison worked in Menlo Park, and was known as "the Wizard of Menlo Park" for his many inventions; over the course of his life, he was granted 1,093 patents. His most famous inventions included the phonograph, the kinetoscope, the stock ticker, the Dictaphone and the tattoo gun. He also is credited with improving the designs of the incandescent light bulb, radio, the telegraph, and the telephone. He started the Motion Picture Patents Company. One of his famous sayings was, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration", as his efforts consisted of research and testing.
  The agricultural products from New Jersey usually were transported to larger markets in New York City and Philadelphia, requiring better transportation. The first ocean-going steamboat went from Hoboken, New Jersey, sailed around southern New Jersey, and ended in Philadelphia. Later, systems of canals were built, the first of which is called the Morris Canal and ran from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, on the Delaware River to Jersey City, New Jersey, on the Hudson River. The Delaware and Raritan canal ran from New Brunswick, New Jersey, on the Raritan River, to Bordentown, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Locomotion was also improved; Hoboken-born inventor John Stevens built a 10-ton locomotive and his son Robert L. Stevens started constructing iron railroads. By 1833, The Camden & Amboy Railroad had been completed, allowing a 7-hour passage between Philadelphia and New York City. Through the 1800s, over a dozen companies were operating railroad lines.
caption: The Great Falls of the Passaic River
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