In a suit brought by the estate of a South Carolina citizen seeking to recover payment from the state of Georgia for the sale of goods, Georgia maintained that it was a sovereign state and not subject to the authority of the federal courts. The Supreme Court held that states were subject to the authority of the federal government and that suits against states were within the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Soon after, the Eleventh Amendment established the principle of sovereign immunity and removed suits against states by citizens of another state or citizens of a foreign state from the judicial power of the United States.

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