The Provincial Congress of New Jersey was a transitional governing body of the
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after t ...
in the early part of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. It first met in 1775 with representatives from all New Jersey's then-thirteen counties, to supersede the
Royal Governor. In June 1776, this congress had authorized the preparation of a constitution, which was written within five days, adopted by the Provincial Congress, and accepted by the
Continental Congress. The Constitution of 1776 provided for a
bicameral legislature consisting of a General Assembly with three members from each county and a
legislative council with one member from each county. All state officials, including the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, were to be appointed by the Legislature under this constitution. The
Vice-President of Council The Vice-President of Council of the New Jersey Legislature would succeed the Governor (who was the President of the Council) if a vacancy occurred in that office.
List of past vice-presidents of Council
The following is a list of past vice-preside ...
would succeed the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
(who was the President of the Council) if a vacancy occurred in that office.
[ See also: New Jersey Legislature#Before the Legislature and the Constitution of 1776.] The Provincial Congress ceased to function when the first session of the new Legislature convened on August 27, 1776, under the
New Jersey State Constitution it had prepared.
[
]
1775 Sessions
The Provincial Congress met in late May, June and August at Trenton. During their sessions in the first week, they elected from their members Hendrick Fisher, as the body's President, Jonathan D. Sergeant, as secretary, and William Paterson and Frederick Frelinghuysen assistants. The members, or "deputies" of the Congress, were received at its first session on 23 May 1775.[State of New Jersey. ''Extracts from the Journal of Proceedings of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, held at Trenton in the Months of May, June and August 1775''. Burlington, New Jersey: Issac Collins. (1775) Woodbury, New Jersey: Joseph Sailer (1835) : 3-5.]
Members of the Provincial Congress
Three Provincial Congress deputies, Abraham Clark
Abraham Clark (February 15, 1726 – September 15, 1794) was an American Founding Father, politician, and Revolutionary War figure. He was a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and ...
, John Hart and the Reverend John Witherspoon signed the Declaration of Independence.
* X = Attended Session
* N = Elected but did not attend Session
See also
*Colonial government in the Thirteen Colonies The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...
(Council and Assembly)
*Provincial Congress
The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...
* New Jersey Legislature
References
Notes
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Further reading
* Kemmerer, Donald L. (1940). ''Path to Freedom, The Struggle for Self Government in Colonial New Jersey 1703-1776''. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
* McCormick, Richard P. (1964, 1970). ''New Jersey from Colony to State, 1609-1789''. 1st Edition-Princeton: Van Nostrand; 2nd Edition—New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
External links
Historical Information
New Jersey Legislature official website
Government of New Jersey
New Jersey in the American Revolution
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
1775 establishments in New Jersey
1776 disestablishments in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...