1. Discuss the interactions of New Jersey politics with the national Progressive movement. In your answer, discuss specific aspects of reform/anti-reform initiatives.
The Progressive Movement of the United States was a major era for political reform that brought the United States into the 20th century. Local governments and states participating in this movement did so unofficially, but effectively, ousting corrupt officials and attempting to balance budgets, repair industry and purifying the government. New Jersey was no exception; a number of Progressive Era policies were enacted during that time, and the election of Woodrow Wilson, a prominent proponent of these Progressive policies and the former governor of New Jersey, was a big step towards demonstrating New Jersey as a hotbed of Progressive politics. Despite the fact that he was a Democrat to the leading Progressive candidate at the time, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson's own platform was very similar in terms of social reform to Wilson - he created equal pay, regulated public utilities, offered workmen's compensation, and created greater scrutiny for local elections (Green, p. 187). In this respect, the election of Wilson to the title of President was New Jersey's ultimate way of expressing its pro-Progressive stance.
Wilson's progressive tendencies were evident right from his inaugural speech as governor of New Jersey - in this address, he states the need for corporate regulation that could be put in place to prevent rampant corruption and unfair taxation. "The composite employer himself needs to have his character and powers overhauled, his constitution and rights reconsidered, readjusted to the fundamental and abiding interest of society" (Green, p. 189). To that end, he enacted both local and statewide reforms that put corporations on a more even playing field with government.
The mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey was particularly progressive in terms of his examination of the administrative structure and budget of his region of New Jersey, providing ample support for the Progressive movement (Tobin, 1974). One of the most important progressive organizations in the movement in New Jersey was the Citizen's Union, located in Essex County and led by Alden Freeman. Some of the reforms that Freeman's people and other progressive movements looked for included equal taxation of railroad property (due to the huge tax disparities that proved problematic for the larger New Jersey cities, including Newark) (Green, p. 173). Due to the valuable land that some of the cities offered were held by the railroads, who were very slow in paying taxes, and did not pay nearly as much as was thought warranted. Not only that, main stem property taxes did not go to these municipalities; all of the money remained with the state itself.
Of course, the major problem with that reform was with the state, who wanted to hold onto that money (which was already allocated to a thinning budget). Losing that money would force them to make up the budget in other ways. One of the compromises, however, was to allocate the new tax money provided to municipalities to public schools; this lowered the opposition that South Jersey had to the request for equal taxation (Green, p. 173).
2. What factors accounted for the rapid rise to prominence in New Jersey of Big Business, especially major national corporations?
There were many different scenarios that led to the rise of Big Business within New Jersey. First of all, near the end of the 19th century, New Jersey became the first of many states to permit companies to incorporate, buying stock in their competitors without requiring the state legislature to do so. Trusts became holding companies, and the Standard Oil Trust became the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey in 1889, paving the way for many others to become large corporations. American Can, Continental Tobacco, General Chemical and others became the first large corporations, eventually taking over almost 90% of the market share in the entire oil industry (Carey, p. 3).
Why was incorporation so sorely needed in New Jersey? The rise of 'big oil' was thought to be one of the primary factors in this push for incorporation. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing in the late 1800s, creating new and bigger businesses and industries - with the increase in size of these businesses, however, it became more and more important to ensure capital security. This was felt particularly strongly in New Jersey, as industrialization quickly replaced the failing agriculture of the state; the city of Paterson, New Jersey started to become a hub for industrialization due to its proximity to the energy-rich Great Falls of the Passaic River. The railroad was becoming more of a prominent form for transportation and shipping as well, many important routes being run through the state. The Camden & Amboy Railroad, in particular, was a popular and revolutionary hub for business shipping in New Jersey. Many canals were also built to facilitate greater transportation of goods; the Morris, Delaware and Raritan canals were constructed in the 1800s, cementing the importance of New Jersey to businesses.
Because New Jersey was such a strategically potent location for business, it was fully expected that Big Business would place a great deal of importance on its dealings there. This is one of the primary reasons why incorporation was stressed so prominently during this time; businesses wanted to be able to secure their capital, leading to the creation of trusts and horizontal combinations. The location of the canals and the railroads meant that most companies were funneling their goods and services through the state of New Jersey, making it a particularly friendly location for corporations. The aforementioned Standard Oil Company had a near-monopoly on the oil industry, which led to its later dissolution into 34 separate companies (Yergin, p. 35).
The unique location and makeup of New Jersey made it the perfect place to be the haven for Big Business during the Industrial Revolution and beyond. Its setting near the cultural hub of New York, not to mention the ever-increasing railroad and transportation presence, meant a lot of businesses did their time there. The passing in 1899 of the horizontal combination laws in New Jersey was no accident; it would be the state to benefit most from these particular financial regulations, and it allowed Standard Oil, among other companies, to become the large corporations that would start changing the face of the Industrial Revolution and American financial progress.
3. What were the chief economic implications of the Depression and World War II for New Jersey?
The Great Depression took a substantial toll on New Jersey's economy. The New Deal helped to support nearly one tenth of the population of the state; due to the sheer number of citizens who were unemployed and extremely poor, New Jersey started to issue begging licenses to them in order to allow them to feed themselves (Gerdes, 2000). The Works Progress Administration was set up in New Jersey to provide new jobs to these same poor - Fort Dix was expanded, as was Piscataway's Rutgers Stadium and Edison's Roosevelt Park. More jobs created by the WPA included the building of Roosevelt Stadium, the Medical Center and the Armory in Jersey City.
One of the biggest economic implications of the Great Depression in New Jersey was the all-around failure of Big Business to survive it; the ratification of laws that allowed incorporation had led to the attitude that government did not necessarily need to regulate businesses in order for them to succeed. However, once the Depression itself hit, it became clear that federal regulation was what was needed. The relative success of the Works Progress Administration allowed New Jersey to build back its workforce, keep up transportation and railroads, and so on. The huge impact of industry in New Jersey prior to the Great Depression had led to a great number of people being employed, which changed once the Depression hit. The sheer number of firings and layoffs meant this state in particular was hit harder than most; the WPA helped the state itself to get back on its feet.
However, in spite of the damage that the Great Depression did for New Jersey's finances, World War II allowed the state to bounce back significantly. New Jersey's shipyards became hugely important hubs for the constructions of battleships, carriers, destroyers and other military naval craft. Nearly 9% of the Allied war contracts in World War II were allotted to New Jersey, underscoring the importance of their naval shipyards to the war effort. These military contracts helped the economy bounce back in a big way, providing many new jobs and opportunities. Furthermore, many women took jobs in New Jersey factories and other industries to make up for the 500,000 men enlisting as soldiers (Stewart, p. 37). In addition to women, cheap labor to boost the economy of New Jersey also came from the use of Japanese interned near the Gloucester City internment camp.
The impact of World War II was immense; the governmental war machine, combined with the strategic location of New Jersey's existing shipyards, made the state a perfect place to inject needed funds into the economy for construction and war preparation. This, combined with the sheer number of New Jerseyans who signed up for war, leaving more room for women to become employed, allowed for a huge economic boom to take place. Because the need for ships and the like was so great, and they needed to be built along the Atlantic Ocean, New Jersey was a natural place to allocate needed governmental finds, the stimulus providing the needed push to reinvigorate the New Jersey economy.
Works Cited
Carey, Charles W. "Corporations and Big Business." GALE Digital Collections. Retrieved from
http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/whitepapers/gdc/Corporations_whtppr.pdf.
Cunningham, John T., New Jersey: A Mirror on America, Afton, 2000. ISBN: 0-89359-
032-0.
Gerdes, Louise I. The 1930s, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000.
Green, Howard, Words That Make New Jersey History. New Brunswick, Rutgers Univ.
Press, Revised Edition.
Stewart, Mark (2004). New Jersey: History. Chicago: Heinemann Library.
Tobin, Eugene M. "The Progressive as Single Taxer: Mark Fagan and the Jersey City
Experience, 1900–1917," American Journal of Economics & Sociology, July 1974, Vol.
33 Issue 3, pp 287–298.
Daniel Yergin, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1991.
