On this day in 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the new U.S. Constitution and thereby join the Union, following Delaware and Pennsylvania. New Jersey had played a major role in crafting the structure of the U.S. government after it became widely evident that the original Articles of Confederation were ill-suited to govern a unified nation.

It was not a simple task.

The smaller states balked when Virginia’s delegates advanced a plan calling for representation based on the population of each state, fearing they would be shut out of the decision making. To allay their concerns, New Jersey’s William Paterson proposed forming a unicameral legislature in which each state would be treated equally, receiving one vote apiece. In the end, the Founders adopted both plans. Under the terms of the “Great Compromise,” there would be a House and a Senate.

On Nov. 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights. In 1790, Trenton became the state capital. William Livingston became New Jersey’s first governor. Paterson went on to become an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and New Jersey’s second governor.

As the 19th century dawned, New Jersey grew and prospered. New factories sprung up throughout the state. The city of Paterson became a textile center and later became known for producing trains and silk. Trenton produced clay products, iron and steel. Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark and Passaic became major manufacturing centers.

As the century progressed, an increasingly urbanized New Jersey came to be known as The Garden State. The nickname’s author, Abraham Browning, a Camden attorney, had noted that “the garden state is an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from the other.”

SOURCE: U.S. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS