In the case of State of North Carolina v. State of Tennessee in 1914, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with resolving a boundary dispute between these two states. The controversy arose from differing interpretations regarding an agreement made in 1780 about their shared border along the Appalachian Mountains. Both states had conducted surveys to establish this line but ended up with different results due to geographical and technical challenges associated with surveying mountainous terrain during that period. As a result, both claimed ownership over certain areas leading to legal disputes and conflicts among settlers within those regions. The court ruled in favor of Tennessee by validating its interpretation based on historical evidence including treaties, legislative acts, and previous judicial decisions which supported its claim more convincingly than North Carolina's arguments did. This decision effectively established what is now known as the modern-day boundary between these two states.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of State of North Carolina v. State of Tennessee, Justice Holmes argued that there was no need to re-survey and mark the boundary line between North Carolina and Tennessee as it had been previously established by mutual agreement in 1821. He believed that despite any inaccuracies or errors made during this survey, both states had accepted this line for nearly a century without dispute. Therefore, he saw no reason why they should not continue to do so now. Furthermore, he contended that if every state boundary determined by an imperfect survey were open to challenge then many other boundaries would be thrown into doubt leading to unnecessary disputes and litigation. In his view, long-standing acceptance by both parties should take precedence over technical accuracy in determining state boundaries.