The Patriot Act: Are Civil Liberties at Risk?

Paper Summary:

This paper examines some of the most controversial parts of the USA PATRIOT Act and attempts to determine if civil liberties really are being compromised. The author expresses the opinion that Americans should have to give up as few of these liberties as possible, but in the society that we live in today, Americans should be prepared to accept some advancements in law enforcement and be willing to forfeit a few freedoms for the sake of safety and security.

Background and Significance
Brief Overview of the Patriot Act
The Problem - Discussion and Analysis
Are Civil Liberties at Risk?
The Solution - New Legislation

From the Paper:

"On October 24, 2001 the One Hundred and Seventh Congress of the United States of America passed Public Law 107-56, also known as Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, or, the USA PATRIOT Act. The Patriot Act was passed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when terrorist group Al Qaeda hijacked passenger aircrafts and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people were killed or injured in these attacks, and the government was under enormous pressure to develop legislation to prevent future attacks (Etzioni, 2004). The Patriot Act, which has proven to be some of the most controversial legislation drafted in our time, passed just six weeks after the September 11 attacks. The Act passed by an overwhelming margin, the vote in the House of Representatives was 356-66 and the vote in the Senate as an overwhelming 98-1. The Patriot Act was passed with very little public debate (Chang, 2001)."

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