HIST3140: History of New Jersey: Government Documents

In 1883 New Jersey passed the Child Labor Law regulating the hours of employment of children, minors and women with the object of protecting the young from "heartlessness, greed and neglect." The law regulated the employment of children by age, type of establishment (factory, workshop or mine) and hours of operation. It also related to the schooling and employment of children between twelve and fifteen and established the position of Inspector of Factories and Workshops. According to the 1880 census there were over 7,000 manufacturing establishments in New Jersey with the majority of children employed in Passaic county but also in Essex, Mercer and Hudson. These reports include the names of the factories visited, type of manufacture, number of men, women and children employed, number of children dismissed for being underage, accidents investigated. In some instances it lists the names and ages of children employed in the factories.

A precursor of the Department of Labor, the New Jersey Bureau of Statistics was established in 1878 to prepare statistics on the industries of New Jersey so that the state might fully develop its manufacturing and industries, create wealth for the benefit of all classes, advance the material interests of the state and its workers, and seek progressive industrial legislation. New Jersey was the 5th state to establish a Bureau of Statistics. These state bureaus are vital to the understanding of early industry and work in America as there was no federal bureau of statistics until 1902. Through narrative and statistics this collection tells a story, year by year, of the rising and declining fortunes of various industries and their employees in New Jersey. Each annual report contains both statistics and essays. A unique aspect of the reports is that of the "open-ended queries" asked of both employers and employees to questions about the equitable sharing of profits, the use of convict labor and the establishment of an eight hour work day.

New Jersey Legislative Documents was a series of compiled annual and ad hoc reports to the Governor and Legislature by State departments, agencies, commissions, boards, and institutions, as well as some county and interstate entities. Later reports in the series often included illustrations, photographs, maps, and data tables. Historic annual reports of New Jersey are useful to State government and researchers interested in government, law, labor, environment, health, architecture, agriculture, transportation, and the social life of New Jersey. This page provides access to the digitized volumes available from the New Jersey State Library.

An extensive collection of digitized New Jersey State Government documents, hosted by the State Library. In several subject areas, the collection includes a significant number of older documents going back to the nineteenth century. The collection is organized primarily by government department or agency, and it can be searched or browsed.

This digital library contains over 48,000 publications issued by New Jersey State Government agencies and offices (plus some federal documents relating to New Jersey). The collection is concentrated on recently issued publications (about 77 percent of the documents are from the year 2000 or later), although there are documents extending as far back as the 18th century. Topics covered include agriculture, banking and insurance, children and families, community affairs, conservation and economic development, corrections, the courts, education, energy, environmental protection, health, human services, labor and workforce development, law and public safety, military and veterans affairs, and transportation.