In the case of American Express Company et al. v. State of South Dakota ex rel. Caldwell, as Attorney General of the State of South Dakota, et al., 1916, the Supreme Court was asked to consider whether a state law requiring express companies to pay an annual license tax violated the Commerce Clause and Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. The court ruled in favor of South Dakota, upholding its right to impose such a tax on businesses operating within its borders. It found that this did not interfere with interstate commerce nor violate any constitutional protections because it was applied equally to all express companies doing business in the state regardless if they were based out-of-state or not.

The dissenting opinion in the case of American Express Company et al. v. State of South Dakota ex rel. Caldwell, as Attorney General of the State of South Dakota, et al., argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring express companies to pay a tax on gross receipts was incorrect and violated principles of interstate commerce. The dissent contended that this tax burdened interstate commerce disproportionately because it applied not only to business conducted within the state but also included transactions crossing state lines. They believed this taxation went beyond what was constitutionally permissible for individual states and infringed upon federal authority over interstate commerce, thus violating the Commerce Clause in U.S Constitution.