John Cooper (New Jersey politician)

John Cooper
Born(1730-01-16)January 16, 1730
Woodbury, Province of New Jersey
DiedApril 1, 1785(1785-04-01) (aged 55)
RelativesDavid Cooper (brother)

John Cooper (January 16, 1730 – April 1, 1785) was a political leader of the American Revolution in New Jersey. He was likely the main author of the New Jersey Constitution of 1776,[1] and served as one of the first judges of Gloucester County.[2] An outspoken abolitionist, Cooper called for New Jersey to end slavery immediately,[3] and argued against a more gradual approach to emancipation.[1][4] A Quaker who was disowned by the Society of Friends for his political actions during the revolution,[1] he was likely buried in the Quaker cemetery in Woodbury, New Jersey, in an unmarked grave.[2] He was the estranged younger brother of Quaker abolitionist David Cooper.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Smith, Bill L. (Spring 2014). "Never Take Kinship Personally: Confronting Slavery, Masculinity, and Family in Revolutionary America". Quaker History. 103 (1): 17–35. doi:10.1353/qkh.2014.0005. JSTOR 24896081. S2CID 145788205 – via 24896081.
  2. ^ a b Carter, Benjamin F. (1937). History of Woodbury, New Jersey, from 1681 to 1936. Woodbury, New Jersey: James D. Carpenter. pp. 23, 48, 157–159.
  3. ^ Lanning, Michael Lee (2000). Defenders of Liberty: African Americans in the Revolutionary War. New York: Citadel Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 1-55972-513-3.
  4. ^ Kornblith, Gary John (2010). Slavery and Sectional Strife in the Early American republic, 1776–1821. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 27, 96. ISBN 978-0-7425-5096-4.