You from Jersey?

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Long before the Turnpike, this Native American group inhabited much of present-day NJ. The Onandaga. The Lenni-Lenape. The Tuscarora. The Ho-Ho-Kus (Hohocus)

2. Who were the first permanent European settlers in present-day NJ? The Portugese, who came for the fish. The Dutch and the Swedes. Oh, ja! The Spanish, who found no gold but founded Little Silver. Renegade Puritans from Massachusetts.

3. We all know NJ is named for the Island of Jersey in the English Channel, right? Yeah, right. Why? England traded Jersey to the Dutch in exchange for NJ. Jersey was the country home of the Duke of Amboy. Jersey supported the Royalists during the English Civil War. NJ was settled by convicts from a prison in Jersey.

4. Between 1674 and 1702, NJ was actually two colonies: "East Jersey" and "West Jersey." Why the split? Some colonists didn't pay their rent . East Jersey was a sub-colony of New York. Slavery was banned in the East but not the West. The East Jersians were revolting.

5. This venerable educational institution was founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, as "The College of New Jersey." St. Elizabeth's College. It's still The College of New Jersey. Princeton University. Rutgers University.

6. New Jersey adopted its first State Constitution on July 2, 1776. So sue me for a couple days; at least we got it done. Which of the following was true of the Constitution of '76? It was written in Latin. It granted the vote to women as well as men. It didn't protect freedom of religion. It featured a unicameral legislature.

7. Molly Pitcher is a NJ heroine of the American Revolution. OK, maybe she's not completely historical, but you gonna say that to me?! According to legend, at which battle did she bring water to the troops -- and help load a cannon when her husband was wounded? The Battle of Yorktown. The Battle of Trenton. The Battle of Monmouth. The Battle of White Plains.

8. You remember Washington Crossing the Delaware, right. Well, he was coming to NJ -- but not for a vacation. According to legend, which of these unusual circumstances aided in Washington's victory at the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776? The Hessian garrison was at church for post-Christmas services. Alexander Hamilton bribed the Hessian commander. A flood ruined the Hessians' gunpowder. Some of the Hessian troops were hung-over.

9. 1804 was a bad year for NJ's reputation: Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. They didn't do it in New York for fear of being arrested. Where did the duel take place? On an island in Raritan Bay. No one knows to this day -- just somewhere in NJ. Fort Lee, near the western end of the (modern) George Washington Bridge. On the Weehawken Heights overlooking Manhattan.

10. 1804 was a good year for NJ's reputation -- and high time, too. Why? NJ (finally) ratified the federal Bill of Rights. NJ (finally) granted all male citizens the right to vote. NJ (finally) ended a 30-year "border war" with New York. NJ (finally) abolished slavery.

11. New Jersey schools are required by law to celebrate "Commodore Barry Day," commemorating the "Father of the United States Navy." Yeah, it's the law. N.J.S.A. 18A:36-10 et seq. Look it up. If you weren't absent that day, you'd know why this is strange. He was dismissed for stealing public funds. He wasn't from NJ. He lost every sea battle he ever fought . His real name was John Paul Jones.

12. One step forward, two steps back. The NJ State Constitution of 1776 granted this right; the Constitution of 1844 abolished it. Tax exemptions for religious groups. Votes for women. Habeas corpus. A minimum wage.

13. There were four major candidates for President in the fateful election of 1860. Who received a majority of the NJ popular vote -- but not a majority of its Electoral College votes? John Bell. Abraham Lincoln. Stephen Douglas. John C. Breckenridge.

14. This Civil War General later served as Governor of New Jersey. Yeah, I know he wasn't born here. Ulysses S. Grant, from Illinois. William T. Sherman, a transplanted Buckeye from Ohio. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Boston Brahman. George McClellan, of the Philadelphia McClellans.

15. This NJ city was founded by the Society for Useful Manufactures. Better than Useless Manufactures, right? Although nicknamed "Silk City" in the 19th century, it was also the home of the Colt Firearms Company. Newark. Jersey City. Trenton. Paterson.

16. From 1907 to 1910, most of the movies filmed in America were made in this NJ location. Batsto. Fort Lee. Hackensack. Nutley.

17. New Jersey boasts several "firsts" in the history of American sports. Which of these events took place in NJ? All of these occurred in NJ. The first intercollegiate ice hockey game in the US (1911). The first recorded baseball game (1846). The first automobile race of over 100 miles (1912).

18. Greetings from Asbury Park! This NJ Shore town began as a summer meeting place for Methodists, but quickly achieved wide and general popularity. In September of 1934, folks got more than they expected from their late summer holiday at the beach. A series of shark attacks in knee-deep water. The only tidal wave in NJ history. Six hundred cases of Scotch floating in the surf. A smoldering ocean liner aground just off shore.

19. New Jersey is linked with New York, for better or worse -- and it's some of each. Which of the following was the first direct automobile route across the Hudson River between NJ and Manhattan? The Holland Tunnel. The George Washington Bridge. The Lincoln Tunnel. The Battery Tunnel.

20. In 1998, NJ won a legal victory over New York. What was it? New York was barred from sending solid waste to NJ. The hated "commuter tax" was declared unconstitutional. Most of Ellis Island was declared part of NJ. The "New York" Giants were allowed to stay in NJ.