State of New Jersey - Constitution

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State Motto of New Jersey "Liberty and Prosperity"

WHEREAS all the constitutional authority ever possessed by
the kings of Great Britain over these colonies, || or their other
dominions, was, by compact, derived from the people, and held of
them, for the common interest of the whole society; allegiance and
protection are, in the nature of things, reciprocal ties, each
equally depending upon the other, and liable to be dissolved by
the others being refused or withdrawn. And whereas George the
Third, king of Great Britain, has refused protection to the good
people of these colonies; and, by assenting to sundry acts of the
British parliament, attempted to subject them to the absolute
dominion of that body; and has also made war upon them, in the
most cruen and unnatural manner, for no other cause, than
asserting their just rights -- all civil authority under him is
necesarily at an end, and a dissolution of government in each
colony has consequently taken place.

And whereas, in the present deplorable situation of these
colonies, exposed to the fury of a cruel and relentless enemy,
some form of government is absolutely necessary, not only for the
preservation of good order, but also the more effectually to unite
the people, and enable them to exert their whole force in their
own necessary defence: and as the honorable the continental
congress, the supreme council of the American colonies, has
advised such of the colonies as have not yet gone into measures,
to adopt for themselves, respectively, such government as shall
best conduce to their own happiness and safety, and the well-being
of America in general: -- We, the representatives of the colony of
New Jersey, having been elected by all the counties, in the freest
manner, and in congress assembled, have, after mature
deliberations, agreed upon a set of charter rights and the form of
a Constitution, in manner following, viz...