Government and politics concepts · AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP U.S. History
Commerce clause
Commerce clause: The constitutional provision giving Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states and with Native American tribes.
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What it means
The commerce clause has been a major source of expanded federal power, used to justify laws on labor, civil rights and the economy. The Supreme Court has also set limits: in United States v. Lopez (1995), it struck down a federal law banning guns near schools because possessing a gun there was not economic activity substantially affecting interstate commerce.
Debates over the commerce clause are central to the balance of federalism.
Example
Congress used the commerce clause to ban racial discrimination in hotels and restaurants serving interstate travelers in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
On the exam
United States v. Lopez is a required case; know it as a limit on the commerce clause in federalism questions.