This is the fourth in a series.
During the winter of 1776, as thousands of colonists were reading and being influenced by the words written in “Common Sense,” choices were being made. Nowhere was this more evident than in the Royal Colony of New Jersey.
Its government was run by an elective legislature, but overseen by a royal governor appointed by and loyal to King George III of England. The colony’s governor had served since 1763, when Benjamin Franklin used his influence to win the post for his illegitimate son William.
Most royal governors had been driven out of office or had taken refuge on British warships, but William Franklin had no…
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