"The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries were tumultuous times for New Jersey. The settlers in East New Jersey rose in violent opposition to the proprietary government of the province. Antiproprietary agitators, including Richard Saltar, defied the authority of the province courts, often forcibly breaking up the proceedings and physically assaulting the judges. Daniel J.

Weeks reveals that the antiproprietary movement was more than a spontaneous outburst against the perceived oppressions of the proprietors. It was, in fact, a concerted and well-planned effort to overthrow proprietary power in New Jersey and establish a government based on the consent of the majority of the freeholders.

The troubles had their roots in the very first days of settlement, after the proprietors, private owners of the land and government, refused to recognize the land patents of the settlers."--BOOK JACKET.