In Bowditch v. Boston, the United States Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a city could take private property for public use without providing just compensation. The case involved a dispute between the City of Boston and a private landowner, William Bowditch. Bowditch owned a parcel of land in Boston that the city wanted to use for a public street. The city had passed an ordinance authorizing the taking of the land, but had not provided any compensation to Bowditch. Bowditch sued the city, arguing that the taking of his land without compensation violated the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation. The Supreme Court agreed with Bowditch, ruling that the taking of private property for public use without providing just compensation was unconstitutional. The Court held that the Fifth Amendment requires that the government provide just compensation when it takes private property for public use. The Court also held that the city's ordinance was invalid because it did not provide for just compensation.

In Bowditch v. Boston, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a city ordinance that required property owners to fill in and grade certain land within their boundaries constituted an unconstitutional taking of private property without just compensation. The majority opinion held that it did not constitute such a taking because the purpose of the ordinance was for public benefit and safety, rather than personal gain or profit by any individual. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that while there may have been some public benefit associated with the ordinance, it still amounted to an unconstitutional taking since no compensation had been provided for those affected by its enforcement. He argued further that if cities were allowed to take away private property rights without providing adequate compensation then they would be able to do so at will whenever they saw fit regardless of how much harm it caused individuals who owned said properties.