The state “New Jersey” was named after the largest British Channel Island Jersey. After the first European settlements were established by Swedes and Dutch in the early 17th century, the English later took control of the region and established a colony there. New Jersey played an important role in the American Revolutionary War, as a number of decisive battles took place there. Thus, on December 26, 1776, General George Washington defeated and captured nearly 1000 “Hessians” at the Battle of Trenton. “Hessian (soldiers)” were soldiers from the German states of the “Holy Roman Empire” who were in the service of the British and fought for the British in the American War of Independence. They got their name as Hessians because almost 17,000 of the 30,000 men came from Hessen-Kassel. It was the people who worked in the factories of the cities of Paterson and Trenton who went a long way towards driving the Industrial Revolution forward in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. New Jersey has the highest population density in the United States. Especially in the 1950s, the areas around the big cities grew very quickly and strongly. This was aided by the state’s central location in the “Northeast Corridor,” known as the BosWash (also referred to as BoWash, BosNYwash, the Northeast Corridor, or simply Northeast megalopolis ), between the cities of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore Washington, D. C. Because Atlantic City ‘s popularity as an oceanfront resort had dwindled, the state of New Jersey legalized gambling there in 1978. Back then, Las Vegas was the only other place in the United States that had large casinos. With the construction of casinos, the city regained importance. If you don’t like gambling, you can stroll the Atlantic City Boardwalk or take a ride in one of the many Boardwalk Buggies for a few dollars. Check topschoolsoflaw.com for brief history of the state of New Jersey.