 William Franklin, the province's last royal governor before the American Revolution (1775–83), was marginalized in the last year of his tenure, as the province was run "de facto" by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey.Franklin considered the Provincial Congress to be an "illegal assembly" and attempted to reassert royal authority.In June 1776, the Provincial Congress formally deposed Franklin and had him arrested, adopted its first state constitution on July 2, 1776, and reorganized the province into an independent state.