The Patriot Act is Detrimental to the Rights of American...

Over two hundred years ago, the founding fathers of this great nation signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, sending a message to Great Britain that they were tired of being subservient to a monarch who had no respect for his people. These extraordinary men understood the concept of liberty and embraced it with great passion. They were all too familiar with the consequences of a government with excess power. In order to prevent America from returning to the ways of Great Britain, they crafted one of the greatest documents ever written, the Constitution of the United States of America. Contained in the Constitution is the Bill of Rights which details the rights the citizens of the United States of America are guaranteed.†¦show more content†¦in Hulse). On October 23, 2001, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner from the ninth district of Wisconsin introduced the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 to Congress (â€Å"Bill†). The bill contained many surveillance provi sions that the Justice Department had submitted to Congress in the past (â€Å"Seeking†). The Bush administration used this time to bully Congress into passing the USA PATRIOT Act. The administration insinuated that any future attacks were going to be blamed on members of Congress who stood against the bill (â€Å"Surveillance†).Unfortunately, many members of Congress panicked under the pressure of the circumstances and voted in favor of this unconstitutional bill. Despite the facts that the act had minimal discussion or debate and contained many provisions that attacked the rights of citizens, the complex, 342 page bill passed with a vote of ninety-eight to one in the Senate and 356 to sixty-six in the House of Representatives (Cornehls 78). On October 26, 2001, just forty-five days after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 became Public Law Number 107-56 with the signature of former President George W. Bush (â€Å"Bill†). The i dea that forty-five days was long enough to analyze the bill itself and the reasons behind the success of the terrorist attacks on September 11 is problematic. The Bush Administration and Congress â€Å"†¦acted without any careful or systemic effort to determine whether weaknesses in ourShow MoreRelatedPros And Cons Of The Patriot Act1354 Words   |  6 PagesTerrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act) is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to ever pass through the US Senate. Its critics use fear mongering tactics to scare people into opposition of an intrusive police state which they believe is inevitable given the government’s new powers. They consider the Act an assault on civil liberties and an invasion of the privacy of innocent American citizens. Yet the real issue is not that the government now has new powers, it’s that the American people doRead MorePresident Bush Implements A Wave Of Legislation Help Protect The Citizens Of The United States1511 Wor ds   |  7 PagesPresident Bush implements a wave of legislation to help protect the citizens of the United States. An important piece of law that was passed was an act called the Patriot Act. This Act’s is supposed to help the government find terrorists and ensuring that another attack like the September 11th attacks doesn’t happen again. However there are a number of constitutional questions that arise with regards to the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act grants the government more power than it had before the attacks ofRead MoreThe Crucible By Arthur Miller1145 Words   |  5 Pagesapplicable throughout American history, and is still relevant in the twenty-first century. 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