Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to end segregation in public life. Title II forbade discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in hotels, restaurants, theaters and other "public accommodations" whose operations affect commerce. Which power supported it? Most people would guess the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress relied mainly on the Commerce Clause, and the Court upheld it on that ground.
Why it works
Key idea
Worked example: Two routes to the same result
- Heart of Atlanta: the motel served interstate travelers directly; discrimination burdened interstate travel.
- McClung: the restaurant served mostly local customers, but bought food that had moved across state lines; discrimination by many such restaurants reduced that flow (aggregation).
- Both rested on findings Congress made in hearings.
Answer: Travel for the motel, goods and aggregation for the restaurant.
Worked example: Motive and the commerce power
- Under Darby (1941), Congress's motive does not matter if the law regulates commerce.
- That Congress also saw discrimination as a moral wrong did not make the law invalid.
- The Court also rejected arguments that the law took property without due process or imposed involuntary servitude.
Answer: A valid commerce regulation stands whatever moral purpose it also serves.
Common mistake
Justices Douglas and Goldberg wrote concurrences saying the Fourteenth Amendment could also support the law. The limits of Congress's Fourteenth Amendment power return in Enforcing the Civil War Amendments and United States v. Morrison.