The eleventh was a direct response to the Supreme Court's egregious decision in
Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 Dall. 419 (1793), a conflict between federal jurisdiction and state sovereignty. The plaintiff - Alexander Chisholm, a citizen of South Carolina and the executor of the estate of Robert Farquar, sued the state of Georgia for $769,613.33 [$169,613.33, the value of clothing provided by Farquar during the Revolutionary War, and $500,000 in damages].
The court (4-1) held that Chisholm could sue Georgia under Article 3§2 of the Constitution, which extends federal judicial power to cases “between a State and Citizens of another State.” During the constitutional debates it was argued that the literal order of the clause was correct, a state may sue citizens of another state, but not vice versa.
Georgia refused to appear in federal court, in that it had already paid the agents, who were to pay Farquar, and claimed sovereign immunity.
After the court ruled against Georgia, the House voted 81–9 in favor of the proposed amendment, the Senate 23–2.
Chisholm v. Georgia helped precipitate the Eleventh Amendment, but the Supreme Court is wrong when it has referred to that case as if it was the
but for cause for the amendment's adoption. Read
Leaving the Chisholm Trail: The Eleventh Amendment and the Background Principle of Strict Construction for a fuller explanation (copy & paste link below).
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1147764