The Constitution
Commerce Clause
Congress's power to regulate commerce 'among the several States', the constitutional basis for much of modern federal law.
In full
Three words, 'among the several States', carry more federal law than any others: workplace standards, civil rights accommodations, drug scheduling, and environmental rules all rest on the commerce power. Its outer limits are periodically redrawn by the Supreme Court, most famously in United States v. Lopez (1995), the first modern case to strike a law as beyond it.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.