CLEP US History I

Answer: A - The case of Marbury v. Madison was essential in making the Supreme Court an effective branch of government because it set the precedent for the Supreme Court declaring laws unconstitutional. Marbury v. Madison emerged when outgoing President John Adams commissioned William Marbury as Justice of the Peace in Washington, D.C., but failed to deliver the commission before he left office, leaving that up to Secretary of State James Madison. Madison refused to deliver it and the lawsuit followed. While Marbury ultimately did not receive his commission, the significance of the case lay in the fact that the Supreme Court declared that issues of constitutionality were entirely in its purview.