New Jersey in The American Revolution - After The War

After The War

In the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress met in Nassau Hall of Princeton University. It had originally convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but mutinous troops prevented the meeting from taking place there. Princeton became the temporary capital for the newly independent nation through these four months. During the brief stay in Princeton, the Continental Congress was informed of the end of the war by the signing of the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. The chief dignitary of the meeting was George Washington, and a portrait was made of Washington during the meeting. On December 18, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the Constitution. On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to ratify the Bill of Rights.

New Jersey played a principal role in creating the structure of the new United States Government. When Virginia delegates came up with the Virginia Plan, which called for representation in government proportional to the population of each state, the smaller states refused, fearing that with such a plan they would no longer have a say in government affairs. William Paterson, a New Jersey statesman, introduced the New Jersey Plan by which one vote would be given to each state, providing equal representation within the legislative body. Under the Great Compromise, both plans were placed into use with two separate bodies in the Congress, with the Senate being modeled after the structure in the New Jersey Plan.