Explore America and discover people, places, art, and history that connect to New Jersey in the Smithsonian’s collections. New Jersey played a large role in the American Revolution. Due to its location between New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey gained the moniker of “Crossroads of the Revolution”—more than 600 battles, skirmishes, and other acts occurred in the state. George Washington also made his famous Delaware River crossing from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, leading to the Continental Army’s first major victory at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.
On Jan. 9, 1793, Jean Pierre Blanchard made the first balloon flight in America—from Philadelphia to Deptford, New Jersey. President George Washington and future presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe witnessed the flight. Thomas Edison, the “Wizard of Menlo Park” invented the automatic telegraph, phonograph, and motion picture camera. He did not invent the first incandescent lightbulb—he invented the first practical one, which would light for hours.
Numerous notable Americans have roots in New Jersey, including writers Walt Whitman and Judy Blume; jazz pianist, bandleader and composer Count Basie; singers Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, and Frank Sinatra; rock ‘n’ roll singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen; actors Meryl Streep, Paul Robeson, and Jack Nicholson; athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Derek Jeter; astronaut Buzz Aldrin; and photographer Dorothea Lange. Grover Cleveland, born in Caldwell, was the 22nd (1885–89) and 24th (1893–97) U.S. President.
