In the case of Samuel McClelland et al. v. The United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether the United States had the right to take possession of a parcel of land in California that had been granted to the plaintiffs by the Mexican government prior to the Mexican-American War. The plaintiffs argued that the United States had no right to take possession of the land because it had been granted to them by a foreign government. The United States argued that the land had been acquired by the United States as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. The Supreme Court held that the United States had the right to take possession of the land. The Court reasoned that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a valid treaty, and that the United States had the right to take possession of the land as part of the treaty. The Court also held that the plaintiffs had no right to the land because they had not taken any steps to perfect their title to the land prior to the treaty. The Court concluded that the United States had the right to take possession of the land, and that the plaintiffs had no right to the land.

In the case of Samuel McClelland et al. v. The United States, the dissenting opinion argued that a tax imposed on distilled spirits was unconstitutional because it violated the Fifth Amendment's prohibition against taking private property for public use without just compensation. The dissenters argued that since Congress had not provided any compensation to those affected by this tax, it constituted an illegal taking of their property and should be declared void. Furthermore, they contended that even if such taxes were allowed under certain circumstances, this particular one did not meet those requirements as there was no evidence presented to show how much revenue would be generated from its implementation or what purpose it served other than raising money for government coffers. As such, they concluded that Congress had overstepped its authority in enacting this law and thus violated citizens' rights protected by the Constitution.