In the 1905 case of Cochran and The Fidelity and Deposit Company v. Montgomery County, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Mississippi law requiring counties to purchase textbooks for all students attending public schools was constitutional. The court held that education is an essential function of government, so providing free textbooks did not constitute unlawful aid to individuals but rather served a broader public purpose. This decision upheld the principle that states have broad powers under their police power authority to regulate for health, safety, welfare or morals of their citizens including in areas such as education.

In the dissenting opinion for Cochran and The Fidelity and Deposit Company v. Montgomery County, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of both constitutional law and precedent. He contended that providing textbooks to students at public expense violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it constituted government support for religious instruction, even if indirectly. According to him, any aid given by a state to its citizens should be secular in nature; otherwise, it would infringe upon their rights as taxpayers not wishing their money used towards religious education. Furthermore, he believed this ruling could potentially open up avenues for further entanglement between church and state in future cases involving educational funding or resources.