Today in History: The 11th Amendment

On this day (February 7) in 1795 the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The 11th Amendment deals with sovereign immunity—the power of the state to not be sued for monetary damages without its own consent. Specifically the 11th Amendment clarifies that the individual states possess sovereign immunity from the citizens of other states. In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin that sovereign immunity also protects the states from suits for monetary damages from their own citizens.