The State of Virginia v. The State of West Virginia was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1868. The case centered around the question of whether or not the State of Virginia had the right to secede from the Union and form a new state, West Virginia. Virginia argued that it had the right to secede, while West Virginia argued that it was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of West Virginia, finding that Virginia did not have the right to secede from the Union. The Court held that the Constitution did not grant the right of secession to any state, and that the formation of West Virginia was unconstitutional. The Court also held that the formation of West Virginia was a violation of the Compact Clause of the Constitution, which requires that any changes to state boundaries must be approved by Congress. The ruling in this case was significant in that it established the precedent that states do not have the right to secede from the Union. This ruling has been cited in numerous cases since then, and has been used to support the idea that the United States is an indivisible union.

In the dissenting opinion of The State of Virginia v. John R. Lewis, Justice Field argued that Congress did not have the power to pass a law prohibiting slavery in any state or territory under the Constitution's Commerce Clause. He believed that this was an issue for each individual state to decide and regulate as it saw fit, and thus should remain outside federal jurisdiction. Furthermore, he argued that if Congress had such authority then it could also interfere with other matters traditionally left up to states like marriage laws or education policies which would be unconstitutional according to his interpretation of the Tenth Amendment reserving all powers not delegated by the Constitution specifically for states and their citizens. In conclusion, Justice Field felt strongly that while slavery may be immoral, its regulation was beyond Congressional authority and must remain within each individual state’s purview alone.