Constitutional Law Chapter Two: Federal Legislative Power and the Commerce Framework

Dec 2, 2025

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Constitution Law 2025 – Full Outline (https://thelawschoolofamerica.com/ConstitutionLaw2025.html)

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Understanding Federal Legislative Power: A Deep Dive into the Commerce Clause

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This episode traces how federal power in the United States expanded and then

hit its modern limits through the Commerce Clause. We follow the story from

Gibbons v. Ogden to Wickard v. Filburn, and into the era of

Lopez, Morrison, and the Affordable Care Act decision,

NFIB v. Sebelius.

You will hear how the Court went from a broad vision of “commerce” as interstate

intercourse, to the aggregation theory that let Congress regulate even a

farmer growing wheat for his own family, and then to the modern doctrine that pulls that

power back and demands a real connection to economic activity.

What we explore in this episode

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<li>Gibbons v. Ogden and the early, expansive definition of commerce.</li>

<li>Wickard v. Filburn as the high-water mark of federal regulatory power.</li>

<li>How the Civil Rights Act relied on the Commerce Clause to survive review.</li>

<li>United States v. Lopez and Morrison drawing lines around noneconomic activity.</li>

<li>NFIB v. Sebelius and why the individual mandate failed under commerce but survived as a tax.</li>

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Quick Takeaways

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<li>You need the full “movie” of how Commerce Clause power grew and then contracted.</li>

<li>Regulating a farmer feeding his own family was the absolute high watermark of federal power.</li>

<li>The Court’s logic: if everyone did that, the national market would be distorted.</li>

<li>Modern exams turn on recognizing when the pendulum swings back and applying the limits from Lopez and Morrison.</li>

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Keywords: Commerce Clause, federal power, Gibbons v. Ogden,

Wickard v. Filburn, Lopez, Morrison, NFIB v. Sebelius, aggregation theory, legal history,

constitutional law.

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