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. Renegade Puritans from Massachusetts. The Spanish, who found no gold but founded Little Silver. The Dutch and the Swedes. Oh, ja!

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

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

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

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 featured a unicameral legislature. It didn't protect freedom of religion. It granted the vote to women as well as men.

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 Monmouth. The Battle of White Plains. The Battle of Trenton. The Battle of Yorktown.

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. Some of the Hessian troops were hung-over. A flood ruined the Hessians' gunpowder. Alexander Hamilton bribed the Hessian commander.

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 the Weehawken Heights overlooking Manhattan. Fort Lee, near the western end of the (modern) George Washington Bridge. On an island in Raritan Bay. No one knows to this day -- just somewhere in NJ.

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

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. His real name was John Paul Jones. He lost every sea battle he ever fought . He wasn't from NJ.

12. One step forward, two steps back. The NJ State Constitution of 1776 granted this right; the Constitution of 1844 abolished it. Votes for women. Habeas corpus. Tax exemptions for religious groups. 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. George McClellan, of the Philadelphia McClellans. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Boston Brahman. Ulysses S. Grant, from Illinois. William T. Sherman, a transplanted Buckeye from Ohio.

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. Jersey City. Newark. Paterson. Trenton.

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

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

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. The only tidal wave in NJ history. A series of shark attacks in knee-deep water. A smoldering ocean liner aground just off shore. Six hundred cases of Scotch floating in the surf.

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 Lincoln Tunnel. The Battery Tunnel. The George Washington Bridge. The Holland 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.