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BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
On the night of July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson completed the Declaration of Independence he had authored in Philadelphia and excitedly hurried to have 200 broadsides printed for distribution throughout the colonies.
Wednesday, nearly 233 years later, one of the 25 remaining copies, believed to be among the first printed, showing its wrinkles and slightly faded, went on display amid pomp and ceremony at the State Museum in Trenton.
Over 400 people, including Gov. Jon Corzine, turned out as part of a celebration of the state's 345th "birthday," to see the historic document and a copy of a land grant that led to the establishment of the English colony of New Jersey on June 24, 1664.
The public has one more chance to see the declaration without charge at the museum from 10 am. to 3 p.m., Thursday before it moves on to Juneau, Al. where it will be part of a July 4th celebration.
Corzine described the declaration's display as a spectacular moment for New Jersey.
"This is one of the most historic documents in the history of mankind,'' he said as he stood near the locked glass case that holds the document. "We are so proud we have a chance to display these documents side by side.''
New Jersey earned the opportunity to display the declaration because of the widespread participation by New Jersey school children in a mock presidential election in the autumn sponsored by the non-profit voter registration organization, Declare Yourself.
"Our future is secure if young people understand democracy demands participation,'' the governor said.
The pomp and ceremony began with Corzine and Erika Johansson of Los Angeles, the Declare Yourself program coordinator, removing the heavy metal case in which the declaration travels from the State Archives vault under the guard of state Troopers Clifford Pollard and Rasheed Joaquin.
State Archivist Karl Niederer oversees the vault where the declaration and land grant were stored. "These are documents that record seminal events in New Jersey history of the highest order,‘' he said. "They connect today's New Jerseyans with a people and what we are as a state.''
A procession along West State Street with the Old Barracks Fife and Drum Corps leading the way, the musicians dressed in British redcoat uniforms, and followed by Corzine carrying the metal case, troopers and an honor guard of a dozen students from Trenton, Ewing, East Hanover and Upper Freehold.
"Guess what's inside here?'' Corzine asked the children as they surrounded him. "The declaration,'' one of them shouted. "Are you going to protect me now if anybody comes after us?'' the governor then asked.
The copy of the declaration Corzine carried has even more colorful history than other copies.
Johansson said that in 1989, a man wandering in a Pennsylvania flea market purchased a painting he admired for $4. Later, while inspecting a tear in the back of the painting, he discovered the copy where it had been folded and forgotten. The man sold the document for $1.1 million and writer Norman Lear purchased it for $8.1 million in 2000. Lear, the founder of Declare Yourself, has had the document displayed nationwide. It travels with two armed guards.
Johansson said Lear's copy is believed to be one of the first printed because it bears "ghost printing,‘' and smudges from a printing press still initially wet with ink.
State Historical Commission Director Marc Mappen said the land that is now the state was called Lorraine, New Sweden and New Netherlands before June 24, 1664 when James, the Duke of York presented a portion of the land to Sir John Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret in recognition of their loyalty to the crown during the English Civil Way.
Described by one of the duke's followers as some of the "most improvabelest land'' held by James, the new colony was called Nova Caesaria or New Jersey.
Niederer said of the hand-written land grant, "This document, in a very real sense, is New Jersey's birth certificate. Our unique identity and history as New Jerseyans begins here.''
For more information on the viewing see: njarchives.org or nj.gov or trentonparking.com.
