During the debates over the Constitution, many Antifederalists were concerned about the provision in Article III that included cases “between a State and Citizens of another State” within the judicial power of the United States. Opponents of the provision feared that creditors would overrun heavily indebted states with lawsuits; that states would face frequent challenges to their land grants; and that federal power would be increased at the expense of state sovereignty. After a controversial 1793 Supreme Court decision allowing a suit brought by South Carolina citizens against the state of Georgia to proceed, Congress in 1794 passed the Eleventh Amendment, which provided that the judicial power would no longer extend to such suits. The amendment, establishing what came to be known as “sovereign immunity,” was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1795 but did not go into effect until 1798.
View the timeline: The Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts