Wright & Others v. United States was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1883. The case involved a dispute between the United States and a group of individuals who had purchased land from the United States. The individuals had purchased the land in good faith, believing that it was part of the public domain. However, the United States argued that the land was actually part of a military reservation and thus not available for sale. The Supreme Court held that the individuals had a valid claim to the land, as they had purchased it in good faith and had no knowledge that it was part of a military reservation. The Court further held that the United States was not entitled to reclaim the land, as it had failed to provide the individuals with notice of the military reservation prior to the sale. The Court also held that the individuals were entitled to compensation for the value of the land, as they had been deprived of its use due to the United States' failure to provide notice.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Wright & Others v. United States, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that a contract between two parties should not be set aside simply because one of them had made an error or mistake in its terms, as long as it did not affect any public interest. Furthermore, he asserted that if such contracts were allowed to be set aside on this basis alone, then there would be no security for private rights and obligations under contract law. In addition, Justice Field noted that even though the government may have been misled by incorrect information provided by one of its agents when entering into the agreement with Wright & Others, it still had a duty to investigate further before signing off on any deal; thus they could not now claim ignorance or lack of knowledge about what they were agreeing to at the time. Finally he concluded his dissent by stating that while mistakes can happen in all kinds of transactions involving human beings - including those between governments and citizens - these errors do not necessarily invalidate agreements entered into in good faith unless some other legal principle is violated or public interests are affected adversely thereby.