ABOUT THIS BOOK

Rogues, aristocrats, and a future U.S. president. These and other governors are portrayed in this revised and updated edition of the classic reference work on the chief executives of New Jersey. Editors Michael J. Birkner, Donald Linky, and Peter Mickulas present new essays on the governors of the last three decades—Brendan T. Byrne, Thomas Kean, James Florio, Christine Todd Whitman, Donald DiFrancesco, James McGreevey, Richard Codey, and Jon Corzine. The essays included in the original edition are amended, edited, and corrected as necessary in light of new and relevant scholarship.

The authors of each governor’s life story represent a roster of such notable scholars as Larry Gerlach, Stanley Katz, Arthur Link, and Clement Price, as well as many other experts on New Jersey history and politics. As a result, this revised edition is a thorough and current reference work on the New Jersey governorship—one of the strongest in the nation.

Also of Interest:
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The Suburbs Come of Age
Fourth Edition
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Me, Governor?
My Life in the Rough-and-Tumble World of New Jersey Politics
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The Life and Times of Richard J. Hughes
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

MICHAEL J. BIRKNER is a professor of history and Benjamin Franklin Professor of Liberal Arts at Gettysburg College. He is the author or editor of twelve books, including McCormick of Rutgers: Scholar, Teacher, Public Historian; A Country Place No More: The Transformation of Bergenfield, New Jersey; and Samuel L. Southard: Jeffersonian Whig. He was a contributor to New Jersey: A History of the Garden State (Rutgers University Press).

DONALD LINKY has served as a visiting professor and senior policy fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and was counsel and director of policy and planning for Governor Brendan T. Byrne. He was the editor of The New Jersey Directory: The Insider Guide to New Jersey Leaders and a monthly columnist for New Jersey Reporter and New Jersey Business.

PETER MICKULAS is an editor at Rutgers University Press and the author of Britton’s Botanical Empire.

REVIEWS

"One virtue of this carefully crafted, fact-laden compendium is that there aren't any rankings, making it even more appealing. An excellent introduction propels the reader into a thicket of politics, ambition, greed and even a few instances of pure public service."

— Star-Ledger

"The second edition updates an important reference on New Jersey's executive leaders. A well-constructed introduction shapes the book's thematic contours while its central thesis concerns the impact of New Jersey's shifting political realities on its gubernatorial leadership. Fifty-six scholars contribute concise but rich biographies of the 74 leaders who have held office. Supported by a comprehensive bibliography, this title remains an indispensable reference for Garden State political history. Highly recommended."

— Choice

"One virtue of this carefully crafted, fact-laden compendium is that there aren't any rankings, making it even more appealing. An excellent introduction propels the reader into a thicket of politics, ambition, greed and even a few instances of pure public service."

— Star-Ledger

"The second edition updates an important reference on New Jersey's executive leaders. A well-constructed introduction shapes the book's thematic contours while its central thesis concerns the impact of New Jersey's shifting political realities on its gubernatorial leadership. Fifty-six scholars contribute concise but rich biographies of the 74 leaders who have held office. Supported by a comprehensive bibliography, this title remains an indispensable reference for Garden State political history. Highly recommended."

— Choice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Erratum: Citations in bibliographies to the New Jersey State Library, or the New Jersey State Library, Bureau of Archives and History, should be to the New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

Alphabetical List of Governors

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Colony

Philip Carteret (East New Jersey, 1665–82)

Edmund Andros (East and West New Jersey, 1674–81, 1688–89)

Edward Byllynge (West New Jersey, 1680–87)

Robert Barclay (East New Jersey, 1682–90)

Daniel Coxe (West New Jersey, 1687–92)

Andrew Hamilton (East and West New Jersey, 1692–98, 1699–1703)

Jeremiah Basse (East and West New Jersey, 1698–99)

Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury (1703–8)

John Lovelace (1708–9)

Richard Ingoldesby (1709–10)

Robert Hunter (1710–20)

William Burnet (1720–28)

John Montgomerie (1728–31)

William Cosby (1732–36)

Lewis Morris (1738–46)

Jonathan Belcher (1747–57)

Francis Bernard (1758–60)

Thomas Boone (1760–61)

Josiah Hardy (1761–63)

William Franklin (1763–76)

The Constitution of 1776

William Livingston (1776–90)

William Paterson (1790–93)

Richard Howell (1793–1801)

Joseph Bloomfield (1801–2, 1803–12)

Aaron Ogden (1812–13)

William S. Pennington (1813–15)

Mahlon Dickerson (1815–17)

Isaac H. Williamson (1817–29)

Peter D. Vroom (1829–32, 1833–36)

Samuel L. Southard (1832–33)

Elias P. Seeley (1833)

Philemon Dickerson (1836–37)

William Pennington (1837–43)

Daniel Haines (1843–45, 1848–51)

The Constitution of 1844

Charles C. Stratton (1845–48)

George F. Fort (1851–54)

Rodman M. Price (1854–57)

William A. Newell (1857–60)

Charles S. Olden (1860–63)

Joel Parker (1863–66, 1872–75)

Marcus L. Ward (1866–69)

Theodore F. Randolph (1869–72)

Joseph D. Bedle (1875–78)

George B. McClellan (1878–81)

George C. Ludlow (1881–84)

Leon Abbett (1884–87, 1890–93)

Robert S. Green (1887–90)

George T. Werts (1893–96)

John W. Griggs (1896–98) Foster M. Voorhees (1898–1902)

Franklin Murphy (1902–5)

Edward C. Stokes (1905–8)

John F. Fort (1908–11)

Woodrow Wilson (1911–13)

James F. Fielder (1913–17)

Walter E. Edge (1917–19, 1944–47)

Edward I. Edwards (1920–23)

George S. Silzer (1923–26)

A. Harry Moore (1926–29, 1932–35, 1938–41)

Morgan F. Larson (1929–32)

Harold G. Hoffman (1935–38)

Charles Edison (1941–44)

The Constitution of 1947

Alfred E. Driscoll (1947–54)

Robert B. Meyner (1954–62)

Richard J. Hughes (1962–70)

William T. Cahill (1970–74)

Brendan Byrne (1974–82)

Thomas H. Kean (1982–1990)

James Florio (1990–1994)

Christine Todd Whitman (1994–2001)

Donald T. DiFrancesco (2001–2002)

James McGreevey (2002–2004)

Richard J. Codey (2004–2006)

John Corzine (2006–2010)

Bibliography

Notes on Contributors

Index