The U.S. Supreme Court case Cochran v. Louisiana State Board of Education in 1929 revolved around a challenge to a Louisiana law that provided for the distribution of free textbooks to children attending both public and private schools, including religious ones. The plaintiff argued that this violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause by providing aid to religious institutions. However, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law, ruling that it did not violate constitutional principles because its primary aim was promoting general education among all children regardless of what type of school they attended - an objective within state power and responsibility. The court further noted that any benefit received by religious schools was incidental and secondary to this main purpose.

In the dissenting opinion for Cochran v. Louisiana State Board of Education, Justice McReynolds argued that the majority's decision to uphold a law providing textbooks to both public and private school students violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. He contended that this was an improper use of taxpayer money as it indirectly supported religious institutions by supplying books to parochial schools. He believed this blurred the line between church and state, which should remain separate according to constitutional principles. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential future implications where states might feel compelled or justified in providing further support for private religious education under similar reasoning used in this case.