Chisholm v. Georgia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chisholm v. Georgia |
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| Argued February 5, 1793 Decided February 18, 1793 |
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| Full case name | Alexander Chisholm, Executors v. Georgia |
| Citations | 2 U.S. 419 (more)
2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419; 1 L. Ed. 440; 1793 U.S. LEXIS 249
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| Prior history | Original action filed, U.S. Supreme Court, August, 1792 |
| Subsequent history | None on record |
| Holding | |
| Article III, Section 2's grant of federal jurisdiction over suits "between a State and Citizens of another State" abrogated the States' sovereign immunity and granted federal courts the affirmative power to hear disputes between private citizens and States. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Seriatim opinion | Cushing |
| Seriatim opinion | Blair |
| Seriatim opinion | Wilson |
| Seriatim opinion | Jay |
| Dissent | Iredell |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. III; Judiciary Act of 1789 | |
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Superseded by
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| U.S. Const. amend. XI | |
Chisholm v. Georgia, decided in 1793, was a very important early case for the U.S. Supreme Court. It was one of the first big decisions by the highest court in the country. This case helped decide how much power the federal courts had over individual states.
Contents
What Was the Case About?
Georgia's Unpaid Debt
During the Revolutionary War in 1777, the state of Georgia bought supplies. They bought these supplies from a businessman in South Carolina. Georgia promised to pay for the supplies, but they never did.
The Lawsuit Begins
After the businessman died, a person named Alexander Chisholm became the executor of his estate. An executor is someone who handles a deceased person's money and property. Chisholm tried to get Georgia to pay the debt. He took the case to court.
Georgia argued that it was a sovereign state. This meant Georgia believed it could not be sued in a federal court without its permission. The state refused to even show up in court.
United States Attorney General Edmund Randolph argued the case for Chisholm. He was trying to get Georgia to pay.
The Court's Decision
Who Won?
The Supreme Court made its decision in February 1793. Four out of five judges voted in favor of Alexander Chisholm. Only one judge, Justice Iredell, disagreed.
What the Court Ruled
The Court decided that Article 3, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution allowed federal courts to hear cases against states. This meant that states did not have sovereign immunity from being sued by citizens of other states.
In simple terms, the Court ruled that Georgia could be sued in the U.S. Supreme Court. This decision gave federal courts the power to settle disagreements between private citizens and states.
What Happened After the Decision?
The Eleventh Amendment
Many people, especially in the states, did not like this decision. They felt it took away too much power from the states. This strong public feeling led directly to a new rule being added to the Constitution.
This new rule was the Eleventh Amendment. It was passed in 1795, just two years after the Chisholm v. Georgia ruling.
How the Amendment Changed Things
The Eleventh Amendment changed the law. It said that federal courts could not hear cases where citizens of one state, or citizens of foreign countries, tried to sue another state.
In 1798, in a case called Hollingsworth v. Virginia, the Supreme Court said that all lawsuits like Chisholm that were still waiting to be heard had to be stopped. This was because of the new Eleventh Amendment.
Supreme Court Decisions Changed by Amendments
Chisholm v. Georgia is one of only a few Supreme Court decisions that were changed by an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Here are the others:
- Dred Scott v. Sandford: This case was about slavery. It was overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: This case was about income taxes. It was overturned by the Sixteenth Amendment.
- Oregon v. Mitchell: This case was about voting age. It was changed by the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
There is also one more case that was indirectly changed:
- Minor v. Happersett: In 1875, Virginia Minor tried to get women the right to vote. She argued that the Fourteenth Amendment gave citizens the right to vote. The Court disagreed. About 45 years later, the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote. So, while the Minor case wasn't directly overturned, its main point about women's voting rights was changed by the new amendment.
See also
In Spanish: Caso Chisholm contra Georgia para niños
