The United States Supreme Court case of United States v. California and Oregon Land Company in 1892 revolved around a dispute over land ownership rights between the U.S. government and the aforementioned company. The government claimed that certain lands had been wrongfully granted to the California and Oregon Land Company by an act of Congress, which was intended for aiding in building a railroad from Portland to San Francisco. However, it was argued that this grant did not include lands occupied by settlers at the time of its passage or those reserved for public uses such as schools or military reserves. The court ruled in favor of the U.S., stating that any ambiguity regarding what lands were included should be resolved in favor of national interests rather than private ones, thus affirming federal control over these disputed territories.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. California and Oregon Land Company, Justice Field argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings of the court regarding land grants. He maintained that Congress had intended to grant alternate sections of public lands to aid in constructing a railroad from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California. The fact that some parts of these lands were swampy did not negate this intention or render them unsuitable for such use; rather it merely required additional labor and expense on part of the company. Furthermore, he contended that once granted by Congress, these lands could not be reclaimed by subsequent legislation unless there was explicit provision made for reversion in case certain conditions were not met - which wasn't present here.