In the case of Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Blackwell in 1916, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving railway safety regulations and liability for accidents. The plaintiff, Blackwell, was injured while working as a brakeman due to an alleged defect in the handhold or grab iron attached to one of the cars. He sued his employer, Seaboard Air Line Railway Company under North Carolina law which held employers liable for injuries caused by defective machinery provided by them unless they could prove that they had taken reasonable care to provide safe equipment. The defendant argued that this state law conflicted with federal laws governing interstate commerce and railroad safety standards set out by Congress through Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). However, Justice Holmes writing for majority rejected this argument stating that there was no conflict between state and federal laws because both aimed at promoting worker safety. Furthermore, he noted that ICC's power did not extend to relieving railroads from their common-law duty of providing safe appliances. Thus, it upheld lower court’s decision awarding damages to Blackwell concluding that states have authority over matters relating specifically within their borders even if those matters also fall within scope of national concerns such as interstate commerce.

The dissenting opinion in the Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Blackwell case argued that the majority's decision was an overreach of federal power and a violation of states' rights. The dissenters believed that it was not within the purview of the Supreme Court to decide on matters related to state taxation, which they viewed as being under exclusive jurisdiction of individual states. They contended that Georgia had every right to tax out-of-state corporations operating within its borders, just like any other business entity in their territory. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of 'interstate commerce', arguing instead for a narrower definition where only activities directly involved in transportation across state lines would qualify as such; anything beyond this should be subject to local laws and regulations including taxation by respective states.