Brown v. Pierce was a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1868. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a slave. The plaintiff, Brown, claimed that he had purchased the slave from Pierce, the defendant, and that Pierce had failed to deliver the slave to him. Pierce argued that he had never sold the slave to Brown and that the slave was still his property. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Brown, ruling that Pierce had indeed sold the slave to Brown and that Brown was the rightful owner. The Court held that the sale was valid and binding, and that Pierce had no right to reclaim the slave. The Court also held that the sale was not invalidated by the fact that the slave was a fugitive from justice. The decision in Brown v. Pierce was significant in that it established the principle that a sale of a slave was valid and binding, even if the slave was a fugitive from justice. This ruling was important in the context of the Civil War, as it provided a legal basis for the emancipation of slaves. The decision also established the principle that a sale of a slave was not invalidated by the fact that the slave was a fugitive from justice. This ruling was important in the context of the Civil War, as it provided a legal basis for the emancipation of slaves.

In Brown v. Pierce, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state could deny African Americans access to public schools based on their race. The majority opinion held that states had the right to do so under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. However, Justice Field dissented from this ruling and argued that denying African Americans access to public education violated both natural law and fundamental principles of justice. He asserted that all people are entitled by nature's God to equal protection under the laws regardless of race or color, and therefore any discrimination against them is unconstitutional. Furthermore, he argued that it would be unjust for one group in society (in this case African Americans) not receive an education while another did simply because they were different races; such unequal treatment should not be tolerated in a free country like America which prides itself on its commitment to equality before the law for all citizens regardless of race or creed.