Duane Lockard, a Princeton professor whose book on the New Jersey governorship was published in 1964, had this to say about those who had served to that point:

"Some were rogues and thieves; some were the mere agents of powerful outsiders (like business moguls or party bosses); some were amiable nonentities, adept at platitude and evasion, who served their terms and passed into deserved oblivion. But there were others. Some were men of firmness, ability, and principle who would compare well with any group of chiefs of state drawn from a comparable society that developed in three centuries from a collection of a few hundred hardy settlers to a metropolitan state of six million people"1.

The colonial settlement of New Jersey was begun by the Dutch, who established the colony of New Netherland relying on claims from Henry Hudson's exploration of Newark Bay in 1609; then by the the Swedes, who established the colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in 1638 that continued until its capture by the Dutch in 1655; and finally by the English, who In 1664 seized New Netherland from the Dutch. During the 112 years of colonial administration that ended with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, there were 20 governors.

For the first four decades the British governors were appointed by Proprietors in London , who had been granted authority over the land by the King. The principal interest of the Proprietors was to gain a financial return from their holdings through taxes, fees, land sales, rents and trade. As early as 1664, for example, the first Proprietors of New Jersey, Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, executed the Concessions and Agreement which established an assembly for the colonists and guaranteed rights, including the freedom of religion, to attract more settlers to the colony. Berkeley and Carteret had been granted lands comprising present-day New Jersey from the Duke of York (later King James II), the brother of King Charles II in appreciation of their support of the Royalist cause during the English Civil War (1641–1651). That support had included Carteret's sheltering the Duke of Wales and other members of the Royal family when they fled to the Island of Jersey during the war. In 1665, Philip Carteret, a cousin of Sir George Carteret, was appointed by the Proprietors as the first governor. The document also provided that the Assembly ". shall make provision for the maintenance and support of the Governor, and for the defrayeing all necessarie charges of the Government", which ultimately gave the colonial legislature significant leverage over the governors.

The land grant to Berkeley and Carteret, however, conflicted with an earlier commission the Duke had granted Colonel Richard Nicolls, who had led a military force that in 1664 had seized the Dutch holdings of New Netherlands centered on Nieuw Amsterdam. Nicolls was named the first English governor of the territory now New York and, without being informed of the grant to Berkeley and Carteret, Nicolls had proceeded on his own authority to grant lands to emigrants in the area west of the Hudson, including in what was then Elizabethtown (present-day City of Elizabeth) The first assembly met in 1668 for a session of five days and adopted a strict code of laws following Puritan principles, but then did not convene again for seven years.

Partly due to the questionable land titles, the Proprietors and their governors had difficulty in collecting quitrents, taxes and other fees from New Jersey settlers. Confusion over the validity of the titles given by Nicolls or Berkeley and Carteret would lead to the brief "Rebellion of 1672", in which settlers claiming land granted by Nicolls convened their own rump assembly and sought to elect Captain James Carteret, .the son of Proprietor George Carteret, as the "president" of the colony in an attempt to depose Governor Philip Carteret, but the revolt was quickly put down in 1674 following statements from the proprietors and the Crown supporting Philip Carteret.

Depiction of Philip Carteret's arrival in New Jersey

New York and New Jersey shared a governor until 1738. New Jersey's early governance was also further complicated by the colony's division into the Provinces of East and West Jersey. West Jersey had been formed in 1674 when weathy Quakers purchased the area from Lord Berkeley. The Quakers had hoped to establish their own government in largely unsettled West Jersey. The Quaker influence would be seen in the preference for more democratic government, as constituted in colonial assemblies, and suspicion of the Royal governors as not only agents of the Crown but also of the interests of the Anglican Church.For most of this period the governor had the power to veto legislation, control the judiciary, and convene and dissolve the legislature at his command. The governor's power as a practical matter, however, was constrained by the dependence on the popularly elected assembly to appropriate money for running the government, including the governor’s salary. The assembly could, and did, use its power to exert pressure on governors to curtail their executive authority.

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the royal government collapsed. In 1776, the last Royal Governor, William Franklin--who was the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin and had gained his Royal appointment in 1763 as governor with the aid of his father's intervention with influential associates in London--was arrested and imprisoned. At a hastily convened Assembly in 1776, the leaders of New Jersey's rebellion wrote a new Constitution declaring that New Jersey was now independent of Great Britain . The Constitution was influenced by the experience of the confluicts between the Royal governor and the legislature – as well as the current struggle between the King and the colonies--and reflected the popular sentiment against executive rule and the support of revolutionary assemblies and legislatures as more representative of colonial interests. The Constitution of 1776 made the governor a figurehead of the legislature. He was elected not by the people but by the legislature, and served a one year term --although he could be reelected by the legislature for successive one year terms. He had no veto and limited powers of appointment. The major responsibilities were serving as commander in chief of the militia and serving as a judge.

Despite the weak constitutional role given the governor, the wartime performance of the first governor to serve the new state--William Livingston--became so valued that it strengthened the practical authority of the governor. Livingston was a key ally of George Washington in mobilizing troops and resources for the war effort as New Jersey became a central site for the battles of the Revolution. "Although his position afforded him almost no executive power and although the state possessed little in the way of adminstrative machinery," observed Princeton Professor Lockard, "Livingston nevertheless gained in influence as a symbol of stability and patriotic attachment to the cause of Independence".

The advantages of a single executive decision-maker also became apparent in the turbulent period during which the British and Revolutionary armies fought across the state. making it extremely difficult to convene the legislature, with impediments to travel and the risk of its members being subject to attack or seizure when they attempted to meet. As hostilities cooled, however, the legislature tended to reassert itself in protecting its superior constitutional role and privileges. After the War's end, Livingston became less visible and more often deferred to the legislature, which nonetheless elected him to 13 single-year terms as governor, ending only by his death in office in 1790. Livingston, whose family already had become prominent in New York and, through marriage with the Kean family, in South Carolina, was only the first of a series of well-bred, patrician governors.

The 1776 Constitution remained in effect for 68 years, during which fouteen governors served under its authority. In 1844 a new Constitution was approved, which expanded somewhat the powers of the governor. The governor now was given a veto over passed legislation, but it could be overwritten by a simple majority of the legislature. The governor's term was extended to three years, but a second consecutive term was prohibited. Governor A. Harry Moore thus served three non-consecutive terms in the period between the two World Wars. Under the 1844 Constitution, the governor could not create new agencies, which allowed the legislature to set up boards and commissions beyond the governor's control. In the 103 years of the 1844 Constitution, 28 governors held office. By the early 20th century, leading New Jersey reformers realized that the constitution was badly outdated, but change was resisted by those whose interests were supported by the existing system, notably Democratic Boss Frank Hague of Hudson County, who preferred a weak governor more subject to manipulation and who would avoid intruding on traditional prerogatives of the county political machines in controlling elections, patronage and contracts..

In the years leading up to the Civil War, New Jersey's state government relied mainly on taxes, dividends and fees generated by powerful business interests, particularly the Joint Companies, chartered in 1831 with the formerly competing companies, the Camden & Amboy Railroad and the Delaware & Raritan Canal companies, restructured as its subsidiaries. The Joint Companies were granted a monopoly by the legislature to operate the lucrative rail and canal service crossing the state that connected New York and Philadelphia. Revenue from the Camden & Amboy Railroad provided some 20 to 25 percent of the State's budget by the middle of the nineteenth century. According to a later historian, “For 30 crucial years, this company had a vice grip on everything that happens. They were the most powerful players in the state. All the governors came either from their officers’ ranks or [had] their approval.”

Economic ties to the South, including the textile industry's need for southern cotton and the growing tourist trade from wealthy southerners who traveled north to spend the summer at the cooler New Jersey shore, also contributed to a relatively high degree of support in New Jersey for the South as tensions grew over slavery. Governor Joel Parker, who was elected during the War in 1863 as a "War Democrat" who opposed the Democrats known as 'Copperheads'" seeking to end the War, nonetheless was one of Lincoln's harshest critics among the Union governors. He vocally opposed the issuance of the Emanicipation Proclamation and in March 1863, with some reluctance, he signed the "Peace Resolutions" approved by the legislature that called for negotiations to bring the War to a close, an effort that was sharply criticized as bowing to Southern demands and leading to recognition of an independent Confederacy.

Following the Civil War, political machines became increasinly dominant in New Jersey politics. Their political power had been bolstered by the growth of urban populations, soaring numbers of immigrants. Colorful leaders in both parties would exercise control over many years, outlasting the governors who remain limited to single three-year terms. In Atlantic County, the Republican machine founded in the 1880s of Louis Kuhnle that continued until the Second World Wat under Enoch "Nucky" Johnson and Frank 'Hap" Farley wielded significant control in the region and statewide through the legislature. Governor Walter Edge, who served two separate terms (1916-1919 and 1944-47) was a product of the Atlantic County machine, although he split from the bosses in the latter stages of his career. from 19 In North Jersey, the legendary Hudson County political machine of Frank Hague and John V. Kenney extended its reach to the national level, playing a key role, for example, in the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president in 1932.

As the twentieth century began, public concern over corruption, waste and business influnce spurred the Progressive Movement, which sought to reform and modernize both the federal and state governments. In New Jersey, the 1910 election as governor of Woodrow Wilson, Princeton University's president, led to a brief but active period of legislation to protect workers' rights; strengthen regulation of banks and corporate trusts; and curtail the power of poltical bosses. Wilson left the governorship after serving less than two years, however, after which New Jersey's political machines again resumed their influential role in the selection of state and local candidates.

After several unsuccessful efforts to reform or replace the 1844 Constitution, the Constitution of 1947 was drafted during a Convention held on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University and approved by public referendum. A primary goal of the new Constitution, which remains in effect today, was to strengthen the power of the governor, and the governor's position is regarded by many analysts to be one of the strongest of any governor in the nation. Unlike many states, the governor is the only state government official elected statewide (although running as a ticket with a lieutenant governor effective with the 2009 election). The term was extended to four years, and the incumbent could run for a second consecutive term. It now took a two-thirds majority in the legislature to overturn a governor’s veto; the governor also was given the power to veto specific language in proposed bills and return it to the Legislature for concurrence with his suggested revisions (known as the conditional veto) and also was authorized to veto or reduce amounts in appropriations bills. The 1947 constitution also created a more modern administrative structure with the governor appointing the heads of all executive agencies; State judges; and county prosecutors.

With the surge in industrial development, immigration and the growth of yrban populations., Political machines

Alfred Driscoll, first governor to serve under the 1947 Constitution

Following the adoption of the 1947 Constitution, various formal and informal developments have somewhat weakened the role of the governor. The State legislature has strengthened its institutional and political role through such measures as ending the prior tradition of rapid turnover of its leaders, allowing for much longer service by the senate president and assembly speaker, thus increasing their visibility; enacting legislation to allow the legislative leaders to establish political action committees to raise funds to support candidates of their choice, which further increased their political leverage; asserting the power through statute to review and potentially veto proposed regulations submitted by executive departments and agencies; ending the former informal practice by which bills passed by the legislature would not be presented to the governor for action until the governor "called" for the legislation, thus giving the governor a strong tool to persuade legislators seeking approval of the pending legislation to support the governor's position on other pending bills or matters; and expanding its staff resources to review and research, independent of the past reliance on executive departments, of the budget, the performance of government programs and other matters.

On November 8, 2005, voters approved a referendum amending the State Constitution to create the position of Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey effective with the 2009 elections. The lieutenant governor is selected by the gubernatorial candidate and they run as a ticket. Prior to the effective date of this amendment, New Jersey was one of only seven states without a lieutenant governor, with the president of the state senate becoming acting governor in the event of a vacancy as well as concurrently serving as senate president. The amendment was proposed after two successive governors resigned and senate presidents served for relative long periods both as acting governor and senate president: Governor Christine Todd Whitman resigned effective January 31, 2001 and was succeeded as Acting Governor by Senate President Donald T. DiFrancesco who served in both capacities until the inauguration on January 8, 2002 of Governor James E. McGreevey and Governor McGreevey resigned effective November 15, 2004 and was succeeded as Acting Governor by Senate President Richard Codey, who served served until the inauguration on January 17, 2006 of Governor Jon S. Corzine. The titles of DiFrancesco and Codey were officially acting governor until changed retroactively by legislation passed on January 10, 2006 to designate those who had served for a consecutive 180 days as "acting governor" with the title of "governor".

1Duane Lockard, The New Jersey Governor: A Study in Political Power (Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Co. 1964)

4A biography of Lord Cornbury is published on Wikipedia, see Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, For a discussion questioning the credibility of the sources for Cornbury's alleged cross-dressing and arguing that during Cornbury's time politicians in England and colonial America routinely used malicious gossip and sexual innuendo to attack their opponents, see Patricia U. Bonomi, Lord Cornbury Scandal: The Politics of Reputation in British America (Durham, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2000). A 2009 Broadway production parodied the Cornbury tenure. See"The Man Who Would be Queen" review of “Cornbury: The Queen’s Governor” , NY Times, January 30, 2009.

Once in office, Roosevelt funneled all federal patronage in the state through Hague and none through the governor or the two U. S. senators. When a man from Newark wrote to the governor of New Jersey asking for a job, the governor responded, “I do not have the power to appoint to these Federal positions. They are made upon the recommendation of the local organizations to Frank Hague. . . . I would suggest that you get in touch with the mayor.” Farley and Hopkins both went through Hague and helped the mayor strengthen his hold on the state. Hopkins began the federal flow by giving Hague $500,000 per month for relief in 1933 and ’34; and in the five years after that Hopkins directed the WPA to pour an incredible $50 million into Jersey City. Ickes and the PWA gave $17 million to Hague’s city—some of which helped Hague build the third largest hospital in the world. Those who could not, or would not, pay their medical bills could get them reduced or removed by seeing Hague’s district political leaders. Roosevelt came down to Jersey City in October 1936, right before the presidential election, to dedicate Hague’s hospital and receive the boss’s official blessing. On election day, Hague delivered an even larger county vote for Roosevelt—almost 4-1—and New Jersey’s 16 electoral votes again went to the president. (21) Burton W. Folsom, Jr., FDR and the IRS, paper delivered at the Durell Colloquium,” The Role of Markets and Governments in Pursuing the Common Good,” at Hillsdale College, October 28, 2006.