Whittemore v. Amoskeag National Bank was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1891. The case involved a dispute between the Amoskeag National Bank and the Whittemore family over a loan that the bank had made to the family. The Whittemores had borrowed money from the bank to purchase a farm, but had failed to make the payments on the loan. The bank then sued the family for the unpaid debt. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the bank, finding that the Whittemores had breached their contract with the bank and were liable for the unpaid debt. The Court also held that the bank had the right to foreclose on the property if the debt was not paid. This ruling established the principle that a bank can foreclose on a property if the borrower fails to make payments on a loan. The decision also established the principle that a bank can sue a borrower for unpaid debt.

In the dissenting opinion for Whittemore v. Amoskeag National Bank, Justice Harlan argued that the majority’s decision was wrongfully based on a misinterpretation of the contract between Whittemore and Amoskeag. He believed that there were two separate contracts in this case: one between Whittemore and his creditors, which included an agreement to pay interest; and another between those creditors and Amoskeag, which did not include any such agreement. Therefore, he concluded that it would be unjust to require Whittemore to pay interest when no such obligation had been agreed upon by him or his creditors in their original contract with each other. Furthermore, Justice Harlan noted that if the court found against Whittemore then it would set a dangerous precedent whereby banks could use third-party agreements as leverage against debtors who have already fulfilled their obligations under prior contracts without being aware of them at all.