In the 1896 case of Chapman v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter related to taxation and property rights. The appellants, who were cotton manufacturers in Alabama, argued that they had been unfairly taxed by federal authorities under an incorrect classification of their business operations. They claimed that instead of being classified as "cotton manufacturers," which attracted higher taxes, they should have been categorized as "cotton compressors." However, the court upheld the decision made by lower courts stating that it was not within its jurisdiction to interfere with or control assessments made for tax purposes unless there is clear violation of rights or if such assessment is so unfair and unreasonable beyond all limits set by previous decisions. Therefore, despite acknowledging some errors in classification and calculation methods used by tax assessors at times; these did not constitute grounds for judicial intervention according to existing laws.

In the dissenting opinion for Chapman v. United States, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of the law and an overreach of federal power. He contended that Congress did not intend to regulate every aspect of commerce between states but only those aspects which required uniformity in order to function effectively. The regulation at issue - prohibiting transportation across state lines of lottery tickets - he believed, fell outside this scope as it pertained more to moral issues than economic ones; thus, should be left up to individual states' discretion. Furthermore, he pointed out that if all immoral activities were subject to federal regulation simply because they involved interstate commerce then there would be virtually no limit on what could fall under federal jurisdiction – a situation contrary to principles of limited government and state sovereignty.