The 1947 New Jersey Constitution
Designed during a time
of change
Back in 1947, New Jersey entered its third, and current, constitutional era. This came right after some of the most intense periods in American history. World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the ugly era of Jim Crow laws had just shaken up everything. New Jersey residents were ready to do things differently. They wanted a government that worked for everybody.
Everyone Gets Rights—Not Just Some People
The 1947 Constitution starts with Article I declaring all people have guaranteed rights, not just men. It kept and expanded some of the foundational elements of the two earlier constitutions:
- No religion gets special treatment over another
- You can’t be blocked from public office because of your race
- Schools and civil rights? Open to everyone, no discrimination allowed
This was significant. New Jersey was leaning into civil rights before the movement went nationwide in the 1960s. You can learn more about New Jersey’s early civil rights movement in our research guide Civil Rights in New Jersey, 1945-2020.
The Constitution also protected workers’ rights to form unions. After unions had fought hard for better conditions in factories and workplaces during the early 1900s, New Jersey made sure those rights were locked in permanently.
Later, in 1991, the state added a unique justice-focused right—constitutional rights for crime victims. This meant victims’ rights weren’t just covered by laws that could be easily changed. They became a fundamental part of the Constitution itself.
Your Vote, Your Voice
New Jersey’s 1844 Constitution as originally written blocked people of color and women from voting, though later amendments to the US Constitution ended those restrictions. The 1947 Constitution’s Article II gave voting rights to all citizens 21 and older—both men and women, regardless of race. When the voting age dropped to 18 nationally in the 1970s, New Jersey amended its Constitution in 1974 to match.
Big Issues? Let the People Decide
Some issues are so important that New Jersey voters don’t leave them just to politicians in the legislature. Instead, they become constitutional amendments that voters decide on directly.
Take gambling, for example. The third Constitution talks about it extensively—not just in the original document but through multiple amendments over the years.
More recently, voters decided on major issues like:
- Creating a sex offender registry
- Legalizing recreational cannabis
Why put these in the Constitution? Because it gives citizens the final say, not just elected officials who might change their minds based on politics.
A Major Change in the Structure of the Courts
Each time New Jersey wrote a new Constitution, they completely rebuilt how the courts work. The third Constitution overhauled the entire judicial system, showing that each generation wanted courts that served people better and more fairly.
Having a Say about Taxes
Article VII is all about taxation and finance, and it puts power in citizens’ hands to determine how and why they’re taxed. This section has been amended multiple times because as society changes, so do people’s ideas about fair taxation.
From 1947 to Present Day
New Jersey’s 1947 Constitution
New Jersey’s third Constitution was created after a tumultuous time in both the state and nation’s history.
The expansion of rights for citizens as well as the use of constitutional amendments as a tool of authority used by citizens to determine the course of its government have been pivotal in keeping the Constitution alive and meeting the needs and desires for a government responsive to all its citizens.
You can read the original 1947 Constitution for yourself either on the State Archives website or as it was printed for distribution and found in the State Library’s digital collections, linked below.
The current version of the 1947 Constitution with all amendments incorporated is found on the New Jersey State Legislature’s website, also linked below.
Click the buttons below for pages related to this constitutional era.
State Archives
Explore curated content from the collections of the New Jersey State Archives.
Coming soon!
Rights of the Individual
Explore New Jerseyans’ personal rights through a series of important court decisions.
More content is coming soon!
Fast facts about New Jersey’s 1947 Constitution
Continue your journey, below, into New Jersey state history
In Partnership
An Online Exhibition from the NJ State Library, in partnership with the New Jersey State Archives.
