They lived
before the acceleration of movement by electricity and steam. They could
not foresee the rapidity and the profundity of the changes which were
imminent. Hence it was that, in the spirit of great lawyers, who were
also possibly men tinged with a certain enthusiasm for the ideal, they
began their work by ruling on the powers and limitations of sovereignty,
as if they were ruling on the necessity of honest intent in dealings
with one's neighbor.
In 1789 General Washington is said to have offered John Jay his choice
of offices under the new government, and Jay chose the chief
justiceship, because there he thought he could make his influence felt
most widely. If so he had his wish, and very shortly met with
disappointment. In the August Term of 1792, one Chisholm, a citizen of
South Carolina, sued the State of Georgia for a debt. Georgia declined
to appear, and in February, 1793, Jay, in an elaborate opinion, gave
judgment for Chisholm. Jay was followed by his associates with the
exception of Iredell, J., of North Carolina. Forthwith a ferment began,
and in the very next session of Congress an amendment to the
Constitution was proposed to make such suits impossible.
Pages:
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95