Tucker v. Ferguson et al. was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a state could constitutionally require a person to pay a fee in order to vote in a state election. The case was brought by a group of African-American citizens in Louisiana who had been denied the right to vote in a state election because they had not paid a fee. The Supreme Court held that the fee requirement was unconstitutional, as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the fee requirement was a form of discrimination against African-American citizens, as it was more likely to prevent them from voting than it was to prevent white citizens from voting. The Court also noted that the fee requirement was not necessary to prevent fraud or to ensure the integrity of the election process, as the state had other means of doing so. Ultimately, the Supreme Court held that the fee requirement was unconstitutional and that the state could not deny citizens the right to vote based on their inability to pay a fee. This decision was an important step in the fight for voting rights for African-Americans, as it established that states could not impose a fee requirement in order to deny citizens the right to vote.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Tucker v. Ferguson et al., arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that, under Missouri state law, a slave could not be emancipated without his master's consent or by any other means than those provided for by statute. The court had held otherwise, finding that emancipation of slaves could occur through an act of Congress which authorized it. Justice Field disagreed with this interpretation and found no authority in either federal or state laws to support such a ruling. Furthermore, he argued that if emancipation were allowed outside of statutory provisions then it would lead to chaos as masters would have no control over their slaves' freedom status and thus be unable to protect themselves from potential harm caused by them once they are freed. In conclusion, Justice Field believed the majority’s decision was wrong because there is no legal basis for allowing emancipation outside of what is prescribed by statutes enacted at either the federal or state level; therefore slavery should remain intact until changed through proper legislative action rather than judicial fiat