Battle monument, commemorates the december 26, 1776 battle of trenton, dedicated in 1893, base of the monument, trenton, nj, usa - june 17, 2022
Battle Monument, commemorates the December 26, 1776 Battle of Trenton, dedicated in 1893, base of the monument, Trenton, NJ, USA - June 17, 2022

Gov. Murphy approves $25 million to preserve New Jersey’s colonial history, but not all of it

by
December 1, 2022
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TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy this week appeared to be out-of-step with his own party’s progressive message of erasing colonial American history where wealthy white landowners and business owners fought the United Kingdom over land once stolen from the indigenous population.

As his Democrat Party seeks to wipe colonial American history from the history books, Murphy announced he will spend $25 million in American Rescue Plan funds to preserve many of them.

“Governor Phil Murphy today announced a $25 million investment towards New Jersey’s Revolutionary War historic sites in preparation for the United States of America’s Semiquincentennial anniversary. The Semiquincentennial anniversary, which will take place in 2026, will mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence and our nation’s 250th year of independence,” the Governor’s office announced today.

Instead of removing statues and tearing down New Jersey’s colonial past as many in his progressive circle desire, the governor is going to make sure those monuments to America’s colonial rise remain intact for future generations.

The $25 million investment from federal American Rescue Plan funds will be allocated to the New Jersey Department of the Treasury and distributed to Revolution NJ, in partnership with the New Jersey Historical Commission and Crossroads of the American Revolution, to help in the restoration of the following Revolutionary War sites: 

  1. Washington Crossing State Park
  2. Trenton’s Old Barracks
  3. Battle Monument in Trenton
  4. Princeton Battlefield State Park
  5. Monmouth Battlefield State Park
  6. Proprietary House in Perth Amboy
  7. The Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield
  8. Wallace House in Somerville
  9. Boxwood Hall in Elizabeth
  10. Rockingham in Kingston 

Earlier this month, the Murphy administration resumed the annual black bear hunt, also angering many of his progressive Democrat constituents.

Who knows, maybe he will even stand up to preserve the history of Christopher Columbus. Murphy supported the removal of statues of Christopher Columbus.

“I’m of the opinion that you’ve got a couple of things that are running against each other here. Columbus Day has always been sort of an iconic day for the Italian American community and that’s something that Ms. Persichilli to my right will verify that But by the same token, if there are statues, symbols that are offensive to folks, we have to have a reckoning with that,” Murphy said two years ago during a COVID-19 hearing. “It seems to me there’s a way still to be able to do both, and I would suggest we leave it to the municipalities to make that decision. I know there’s a statue, for instance, in New York City. That wasn’t Theodore Roosevelt in particular, but there was a depiction of a Native American and an African American that was particularly offensive and I think we have to acknowledge that and find a way to be able to both celebrate Italian American Heritage on the one hand, but also remove symbols that offend people.”

Phil Stilton
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