The First Congressional Election in New Jersey

Abstract

New Jersey elected a Congressional delegation in 1789 which was friendly to the new Constitution.  A letter acquired by the library from the correspondence of Joseph Bloomfield and Jonathan Dayton gives us a glimpse of what went on behind the scenes. Written by Bloomfield on Feb. 28, 1789, while the election was in progress, it tells a story of intense personal conflicts and high pressure politics which proves that Jerseymen even at that early date had little to learn of the fine art of politics.