McArthur & Others v. Scott & Others was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of slavery. The case was brought by a group of African-American slaves who had been taken from Missouri to the free state of Illinois. The slaves argued that they were illegally held in slavery and should be freed. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the slaves, holding that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery in the free states. The Court also held that the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 did not apply to the slaves in this case, as they had been taken to Illinois before the Act was passed. The Court's decision was a major victory for the abolitionist movement and helped to further the cause of ending slavery in the United States.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in McArthur & Others v. Scott & Others, arguing that the majority's decision was an unconstitutional interference with state sovereignty and a violation of contract law. He argued that Congress had no authority to pass legislation interfering with contracts between individuals or states, as it would be a violation of Article I Section 10 Clause 1 of the Constitution which prohibits any state from passing laws impairing contractual obligations. Furthermore, he stated that if Congress could interfere in such matters then they would have unlimited power over all private contracts and thus violate individual rights protected by the Constitution. Justice Field also noted that while there may have been some injustice done to one party due to their ignorance of certain facts at hand when entering into a contract, this did not give Congress license to override existing legal agreements made between two parties without just cause or reason for doing so.