The Colorado was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1875. The case involved a dispute between the United States and the State of Colorado over the ownership of certain lands in the state. The United States claimed that the lands were part of the public domain and that the state had no right to them. The state argued that the lands were part of its territory and that it had the right to control them. The Supreme Court held that the United States had the right to the lands in question. The Court reasoned that the United States had acquired the lands through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848. The Court also held that the United States had the right to control the lands, as it had done so since the treaty was signed. The Court also held that the state of Colorado had no right to the lands, as it had not acquired them through any treaty or other legal means. The Court noted that the state had not even been in existence when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. The Court concluded that the United States had the right to the lands in question and that the state of Colorado had no right to them.

In The Colorado, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state could tax an out-of-state corporation for income earned within its borders. In a 5-4 decision, the majority held that states do not have this power under the Constitution. Justice Field wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that states should be able to impose taxes on corporations operating within their boundaries regardless of where they are incorporated. He reasoned that since corporations are creatures of state law and derive their powers from those laws, it is reasonable for states to require them to pay taxes as part of doing business there. Furthermore, he noted that allowing such taxation would help ensure uniformity among different jurisdictions and prevent unfair competition between companies based in different places with varying levels of taxation. Ultimately, while Justice Field agreed with the majority's conclusion regarding interstate commerce regulations being outside the scope of state authority, he believed taxing corporate activity occurring within each individual jurisdiction was well within its rights as sovereign entities under our federal system.