Gaines v. New Orleans was a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1867. The case involved a challenge to a Louisiana law that required African Americans to attend a separate school from white students. The plaintiff, Charles Gaines, was an African American man who had been denied admission to a white school in New Orleans. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gaines, finding that the Louisiana law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court held that the law was unconstitutional because it denied African Americans the same educational opportunities as white students. The Court also noted that the law was based on racial discrimination and that it was not necessary to maintain public order. The decision in Gaines v. New Orleans was an important step in the struggle for civil rights in the United States. It established the principle that the government must provide equal educational opportunities to all citizens, regardless of race. This decision was a precursor to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

In Gaines v. New Orleans, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state law requiring African Americans to attend separate schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The majority opinion held that it did not violate this clause because states had wide discretion in regulating their own educational systems and could choose whatever system they deemed best for their citizens. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that while states may have some leeway in how they structure their education systems, such laws must still comply with constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law. He argued that by forcing African American children into segregated schools solely on account of race or color without any other justification violated these protections and should be struck down as unconstitutional.