The Slaughter-House Cases was a landmark Supreme Court case that addressed the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case was brought by the Butchers' Benevolent Association of New Orleans against the Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company. The Butchers' Benevolent Association argued that the Louisiana legislature had granted the Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company a monopoly on the slaughterhouse business in New Orleans, which violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to the states, and that the Louisiana legislature had the right to grant the monopoly. The decision was controversial, as it limited the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment and the ability of the federal government to protect the rights of citizens. The decision was eventually overturned in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, which held that the Fourteenth Amendment did apply to the states.

In the Slaughter-House Cases, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not a Louisiana law granting exclusive rights to operate slaughterhouses within New Orleans violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion held that it did not violate any of the privileges and immunities granted by this amendment, but Justice Field dissented from this decision. He argued that while Congress had no power to regulate state laws concerning private property, they were empowered to protect citizens’ fundamental rights under Article IV of the Constitution. Furthermore, he believed that if states could pass laws which deprived individuals of their right to pursue an occupation without due process or equal protection then these same states would be able to deprive them of other constitutional protections as well. As such, Justice Field concluded that since all citizens are entitled to certain fundamental rights regardless of where they live in America then those same rights must also be protected against infringement by state governments through either legislation or judicial action.