erritory, as the other free border states did, and its immigration, by the time the abolitionist movement was born, had been reduced to New Jersey’s native born. Most importantly, though, was that Jerseyans eliminated their slaves by law through gradual steps, allowing abolishment to occur by peaceful means instead of detrimental ones.22It is true that abolitionism was not a major issue in New Jersey politics during the antebellum period, but this did not mean sympathy or support of slavery. The majority of New Jerseyans, in fact, looked down upon and distrusted slave owners. Flemming even mentions New Jersey slavery sympathists, such as Quaker John Woolman, a resident of Mount Holly, New Jersey, who began the antislavery movement in America by publishing a pamphlet called Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes: Recommended to the Professors of Christianity. In the years before the Revolution, he and other Jersey Quakers presented a number of petitions to the legislature asking for new laws prohibiting the importation of slaves and allowing them to be freed without posting the two hundred pound bond that was required.23Flemming’s historical account of New Jersey provides a clear picture of the politics and economy of New Jersey, but at the same time leaves out pieces of history. To his credit, though, he presents an unbiased view of both sides during the revolutionary and civil war, allowing the reader to understand the positives and negatives of the opposing points of view. Perhaps, though, it would be more appropriate to call his book An Abbreviated History of New Jersey, instead, because the title of his book, itself, is a misconception....
