History of the New Jersey State Constitution

Originally, the state of New Jersey was a single British colony, the Province of New Jersey. After the English Civil War, Charles II assigned New Jersey as a proprietary colony to be held jointly by Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. Eventually, the collection of land fees, or quit-rents, from colonists proved inadequate for colonial profitability. Sir George Carteret sold his share of the colony to the Quakers in 1673. Following the sale, the land was divided into East and West Jersey. In 1681, West Jersey adopted a constitution. In 1683, East Jersey adopted one as well. In 1702, the colonies were united again under Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and adopted a constitution in 1776.

Constitutions

Concession and Agreement

Main article: Concession and Agreement

Concession and Agreement was a legal document that guaranteed rights; including, but not only, religious freedom. It served as the basic governing document of the colony of New Jersey. Although the document is most commonly recognized as an enticement for settlers, it is in the basic form of any colonial charter or constitution, and guarantees such rights.

West Jersey Constitution

In 1681, West Jersey adopted a constitution.

East Jersey Constitution

See footnote

The constitution of East Jersey, unlike West Jersey's, did not seemingly have a section of the traditional colonial constitution missing. Within their constitution was a detailed creation of a great Council, who would control the colony. The constitution also created a somewhat abbreviated enumeration of rights. The constitution also bans the admission of any non-Christian into the council. A vestige from the Stamp Act, Article XVIII is an archaic section of a since-repealed act.

1776 Constitution

Initial Drafting

New Jersey's first state constitution was adopted on July 2, 1776. The American Revolutionary War was underway and George Washington had recently been defeated in New York, putting New Jersey in imminent danger of invasion. With Patriot and Tory factions plotting and battling each other, New Jersey was a state at war and was nearly a state at civil war. Composed in a span of five days at the end of June and ratified just two days later on July 2, 1776, the first New Jersey State Constitution reflected the turbulence and uncertainty of the moment. Its primary objective was to provide a basic governmental framework and preempt New Jersey's fall into anarchy. And yet despite being conceived in a state of military emergency, this Constitution was durable enough to serve as the charter document for the State government for the next 68 years.

Vote not limited by race or gender

A notable aspect of this original 1776 New Jersey State Constitution is that it provisioned suffrage to citizens without regard to gender or race. New Jersey stood alone among the original thirteen states of the Revolutionary period in excluding these distinctions. As set out in its defining constitutional document, only three provisos restricted those claiming the vote: (i) being of "full age", (ii) having attained a threshold level of wealth, and (iii) having residence within a county during the year prior to an election. Section IV of this original State of New Jersey Constitution captures these ideas in its single sentence:

"That all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money, clear estate in the same, and have resided within the county in which they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled to vote for Representatives in Council and Assembly; and also for all other public officers, that shall be elected by the people of the county at large."

The New Jersey legislature did amend this constitution on September 20, 1777, by substituting the words " State " and " States " for " colony " and " colonies."

Women's Right Clarified in 1797

Some have argued that New Jersey’s gender-neutral language was a mistake, but most historians agree that the clear intention was to allow some women and African Americans to vote. Although married women could not hold property in their own name (and so were considered to be represented by their husbands' votes), large numbers of single women did regularly participate in elections and spoke out on political issues in New Jersey in the 1790s and 1800s.

If there were any lingering doubts about their intentions, the passage of New Jersey’s 1797 voting law—which introduced the phrase “he or she” in reference to voters—erased them and clarified for all that the right to vote across the state was for both men and women. The Act—passed by the New Jersey Assembly on February 22, 1797—was called “An Act to regulate the Election of Members of the Legislative-Council and the General Assembly, Sheriffs and Coroners, in this State" and it revised the regulations for the election of public officials. The law specifically included women in the franchise. Section XI of the Act stated:

“And be it enacted, That every voter shall openly, and in full view deliver his or her ballot (which shall be a single written ticket, containing the names of the person or persons for whom he or she votes) to the said judge, or either of the inspectors, who, on receipt thereof, shall, with an audible voice, pronounce the name of such voter, and if no objection is made to the voter, put the ballot immediately into the election box, and the clerk of the election shall thereupon take down the name of such voter in a book or poll list, to be provided for the purpose.”

Vote Rescinded for Women, non-Whites

Between 1797 and 1807 women voted in large numbers in New Jersey. But in 1807 the state's legislature ignored the constitution and restricted suffrage to white male citizens who paid taxes. This was largely a result of the Democratic-Republican Party's attempt to unify its factions for the 1808 presidential election. A faction within the party wanted to deny the vote to aliens and the non-tax-paying poor. The liberal faction within the party gave way on this, but also took the vote from women, who tended to vote for the Federalist Party.

New Jersey's 30-year experiment with female suffrage ended not mainly because of open opposition to the idea of women voting, but as a casualty of party politics and backroom bartering. Another factor was the renewed push by some groups to reinforce the importance of women in the home—and out of the public realm. It also did not help that in the intervening decades no other state had followed New Jersey’s more progressive voting approach. Some historians have viewed the New Jersey episode as evidence that the founders entertained the possibility that women could have political rights. The emphasis on liberty and natural rights in the Revolutionary period brought previously excluded groups into the political process. For example, women took the lead in organizing boycotts of British goods in the disputes over colonial rights that led to the Revolution. The writers of New Jersey's 1776 constitution took the natural rights sentiment further than other states were willing to go. But by 1807, the Revolutionary era had passed and Revolutionary fervor was a dimming memory. New Jersey therefore succumbed and fell in line with the practice of the other states.

External links

• Original New Jersey Constitution
• West Jersey Charter
• West Jersey Constitution
• East Jersey Constitution
• NJ Constitution of 1776
• Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents (at "New Jersey"). The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Lillian Goldman Law Library (Yale Law School). Retrieved 2010-03-14. This website has links to the following documents:
  • 1664 – The Duke of York's Release to John Ford Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, June 24
  • 1664 – The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There
  • 1672 – A Declaration of the True Intent and Meaning of us the Lords Proprietors, and Explanation of There Concessions Made to the Adventurers and Planters of New Caesarea or New Jersey
  • 1674 – His Royal Highness's Grant to the Lords Proprietors, Sir George Carteret, July 29
  • 1676 – The Charter or Fundamental Laws, of West New Jersey, Agreed Upon
  • 1676 – Quintipartite Deed of Revision, Between E. and W Jersey: July 1
  • 1680 – Duke of York's Second Grant to William Penn, Gawn Lawry, Nicholas Lucas, John Eldridge, Edmund Warner, and Edward Byllynge, for the Soil and Government of West New Jersey-August 6
  • 1681 – Province of West New-Jersey, in America, The 25th of the Ninth Month Called November
  • 1682 – Duke of York's Confirmation to the 24 Proprietors: March 14
  • 1683 – The Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey in America
  • 1683 – The King's Letter Recognizing the Proprietors' Right to the Soil and Government
  • 1702 – Surrender from the Proprietors of East and West New Jersey, of Their Pretended Right of Government to Her Majesty
  • 1709 – The Queen's Acceptance of the Surrender of Government; April 17
  • 1712 – Charles II's Grant of New England to the Duke of York, 1676 – Exemplified by Queen Anne
  • 1776 – Constitution of New Jersey