Background:
In 1777 troops stationed in Georgia were short on supplies. The state of Georgia authorized the procurement of supplies from a South Carolina merchant named Robert Farquhar. The state of Georgia never paid for the supplies. After Farquhar died his estate brought suit against the state of Georgia in federal court. The district court dismissed the case on grounds that a state cannot be sued by a citizen of another state.
After the dismissal Chisholm filed the suit before the Supreme Court. A representative from the state of Georgia did not appear. The court decided to hold the case over until 1793 so Georgia could provide representation. Georgia did not send representation in 1793 either and the court proceeded to hear the case.
The court analyzed 4 questions including whether or not a State could be sued by a citizen of another state. The justices who heard the case were Chief Justice John Jay, and associate justices William Cushing, James Wilson, John Blair, and James Iredell. The decision was reached 4-1 with Iredell dissenting ruling that Georgia could be sued. As a result the 11th amendment was passed in 1795.
Opinion: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/2/419
William Wilberforce has been called an agitator for his commitment to ending the slave trade. One of his well known speeches on the subject was given on May 12, 1789.
Cardinal Richelieu has been hailed as a great statesman and as a subversive authoritarian. Depending on who you talk to he was a man needed to strengthen the monarchy in France, or he was a tyrant seeking personal power. Next week I will have a book review that may shed more light on Cardinal Richelieu.
When Lenin was working on his major writing projects he would often pace across the room formulating the ideas that he would write down by saying them out loud. Once he had the idea for what he wanted to write he would often repeat the idea to Nadezhda Krupskaya, who would provide feedback. Once this process was complete he would then write the ideas down.
Here is an AI rendering of what that might have looked like when he was drafting What is to be Done.
This month this community will focus on political subversion. What is subversion? When is it justified? What is the interplay between subversion and agitation? These are some of the topics to be discussed this month.
“You get used to the despot’s shortcomings, when they are not great vices, and the change of an autocratic ruler leads to involuntary fear.”
Sergei Trubetskoi
