Political Career
Hart was elected to the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1750. He was first elected to the New Jersey colonial Assembly in 1761 and served there until it was dissolved in 1771. He was appointed to the local Committee of Safety and the Committee of Correspondence, and became a judge on the Court of Common Pleas. He was often called "Honest John."
When New Jersey formed a revolutionary assembly (or provincial congress) in 1776 he was elected to it and served as its Vice President. Prior to June 1776, the New Jersey delegation in the First Continental Congress was opposed to independence. As a result, the entire delegation was replaced, and Hart was one of those selected for the Second Continental Congress. He joined in time to vote for and sign the Declaration of Independence.
He served only until August of that year, then was elected Speaker of the newly formed New Jersey General Assembly. He would later take on additional duties as Treasurer of the Council of Safety (which was given "extraordinary and summary powers" to carry out affairs of the state during emergencies), President of the Joint Meetings of the New Jersey Congress, and Commissioner of the State Loan Office.
Hart Boulevard in Flemington, New Jersey is named after him.
Read more about this topic: John Hart (New Jersey Politician)
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