Patriot Act Argumentative Essay by supercalifragilistic

In this article, the writer notes that the U.S. Patriot Act was passed in haste following the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001. The writer points out that the act was reauthorized and amended in 2006. The writer claims that in its urgency, the United States Congress, fueled by extremely fearful times and the mushrooming nationalism spawned by those fears, appears to have launched its own attack on the United States Constitution in order to provide the legal clout needed to avoid another attack. This paper reviews the literature surrounding the Patriot Act's intrusion into the Constitution. The writer provides a review of the issues and the amendments and looks at how the Patriot Act conflicts with those amendments.

Outline:
Introduction
Bill of Rights, Amendment IV
Background on Fourth Amendment
Generalizations
The Patriot Act Specifics and Generalizations
Senator Russell Feingold: The only U.S. Senator to Vote against the Patriot Act in 2001
Sixth Amendment
Generalizations about the Patriot Act, the Loss of Privacy, the Digital Technology Implications and the Fourth Amendment
Librarians Concerns about the Patriot Act