... government to unprecedented levels. A big complaint into why we missed 9/11, was the ineptitude and bureaucracy of the federal government. The different federal agencies were so big and inefficient, that they could not coordinate with each other, and the Patriot Act was the answer to this problem. The act also would modernize law enforcement into the 21st century, where cell phones and email are commonplace, having replaced landline phones ... and snail mail. Also, the Act allotted more power for government to freeze and capture terrorist funds before they could be used ... ...

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... 's assault on our constitutional protections had begun to subside, Attorney General John Ashcroft has drafted new legislation that further threatens our core civil liberties and rights. The draft "Domestic Security Enhancement Act" contains a multitude of new and sweeping law enforcement and intelligence gathering powers -- many of which are not related to terrorism -- that would severely undermine ... protest tactics such as those used by Operation Rescue or protesters at Vieques Island, Puerto Rico would become victims of criminal wiretapping and other electronic surveillance. In addit...

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... rights, how it specifically stomps on Amendments in the Bill of Rights, all in the name of possible potential security. First, the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights states: "Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof the freedom of speech or the right of the people peaceably to assemble- However, under Section 802 of the Patriot Act, the federal crime of "domestic terrorism" is introduced ... persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause ." But under Sect...

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... are just looking out for their kid's (nation's) safety. "I believe that the personal freedoms that set this country apart from all others have been eroding since the 1970s, and the Patriot Act is a quantum leap down the same path. The scariest part is that so many people seem to agree with it! The McCarthy era has returned in a new form, and we have become too blind ... Mich. This quote from PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc., shows the side of one against the act. I agree with this view. Roger Buffington makes reference to the McCarthy era (a period of intense persecution of membe...

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... what it's known for: its dismissal of democratic law and principles. Although some people find it to be helpful, the Patriot Act is morally wrong and against our Constitution. The Patriot Act goes against the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Fourteenth, and Eighth, Amendments. In the Fourth Amendment it violates the right "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures," where warrants ... only be issued upon "probable cause" and must be specific as to place to be searched and persons or things to be taken. Section 213 of the Act permits "snea...

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... not from a newly formed policy. In the USA PATRIOT Act, the military industrial complex benefits fiscally from the act, for providing the U.S. government with the tools to fight terrorism. However we tend to overlook an important facet of terrorists tactics. The underlying problem is that the terrorist look and act like ordinary citizens; they blend into society. For this reason the United States Government used this facet of ... can perform facial recognition and is successful even if it doesn't scan the entire face. Furthermore, the NSA has the legal right to spy on all foreigners any...

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... Party and its agenda. Albert Gallatin said the Sedition Act was a weapon "to perpetuate their authority and preserve their present places." Proof that this bill was politically motivated became obvious when the House voted to extend the act from the original one year proposed to the expiration of John Adams term, March 3, 1801. The States response to the passing of the Sedition Act was mixed. Kentucky and Virginia each ... responded with acts basically nullifying the Congressional act, but other states accepted the Congress taking authority from what had been a state function ... . If th...

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... Because of its incredible growth in popularity in a very short amount of time it has been hard to regulate. The first act to come out regarding the Internet and Freedom of Speech was PL 99-508 the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act of 1986 . This act consisted of two parts, title I and title II. Title I - Interception of Communications and Related Matters. Basically takes ... record of your activities on-line with a court order from a government entity. Then after the government notifies the individual in question, the material is either used by the agency or is destroyed. Probab...

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... foreign terrorists. Many Democratic-Republicans believed that it was against the Constitution. Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State 1778, believed differently. The Alien Act stated that foreigners that seemed dangerous to the country can be removed on the order of the president. Pickering had reasons for defending the Alien Act and concerns about it. It was the same way for the Sedition Act as well, which stated that people would not be ... allowed to falsely accuse the government in any way be mouth or writing ... ...

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Past Lessons Forgotten When I first heard of the Patriot Act, I quickly realized that many of it's sections were unconstitutional. The Patriot Act was formed "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world." (Ashcroft) Then in section 202, the Patriot Act gives the government the "authority to intercept wire, oral, and electric communications" (2). This gives the government the ability to tap phones and to detain people for almost ... saw similar actions when Joe McCarthy wanted to help keep Americans safe from the Soviet Union. I guess the question is; Will the ...

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... upcoming election in 1800, these two parties were fiercely competing for public popularity. In response to the Jeffersonians efforts to gain this support and inform people of the Federalist's faults, John Adams, a federalist president, created a controversial act known as the Sedition Act of 1798. Outraged by the terms of this act, Kentucky and Virginia each passed their own Resolutions that would later be viewed as unpromising signals ... government to deny Americans of these rights; no power other than the power of the state had the right to exercise such powers. Therefore, Jefferson ...

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... (US Constitution). This means that law enforcement cannot enter an individual's private property and search the premises. However, the Patriot Act further relaxes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows law enforcement to conduct searches without a warrant on foreign agents (Dlouhy). Now, the FBI does not need probable cause or suspicion that a person is involved in any terrorist activities ... -incriminating evidence or saying something that may be held against them in a trial. If the individual has a lawyer, the government has the right to monitor communication between t...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... or private. United States authorities can browse medical, financial, educational and library records without showing evidence of a crime ever being committed. The Patriot Act also overrides the existing state and federal privacy laws, so long as the FBI claims the information is connected to an intelligence investigation. It appears that there are two clear sides to this issue. First, is that as an ... but even if it can be said that she should not wear this shirt in school, local Board of Education member John Luoni accused the student of "committing treason" for criticizing the war, a...

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... took place in the Senate and The House Of Commons followed the introduction of the proposed resolutions. Yet there were still numerous objections. Many citizens criticized the ideas that the federal government was acting alone without involving the provinces. The Provincial Premiers questioned the legality of the decision and brought it before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the Federal government could act alone but should consult the provinces to support the best interests of ... the citizens. After this point Trudeau tried to gain the consent of the provinces before moving fo...

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... elections, regulate intrastate commerce, establish forms of state and local governments, and protect public health, safety, and morals. The court would have to consider does the Alabama Primate Experimentation Act protect the public health, safety, and morals of the citizens of the State of Alabama. Being that this experiment involves does of radiations that could leak into Alabama's air and harm those ... one may feel that it is wrong to experiment on animals this. By observing this experiment, one may suffer psychological effects. However, there is a clause in the Alabama Primate Exper...

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... increased this belief. These acts are four laws signed by Adams. The first is the Naturalization Act. This act increased the residency requirement for immigrants to obtain citizenship from 5 years to 14 years. The second act was the Alien Act, which allowed the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens. Next was the Alien Enemy Act that endowed the President with the power to arrest and deport or imprison enemy aliens in times of ... declared war. Last, the Sedition Act made it illegal to publish defamatory statements against the federal government or government officials. These l...

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... which was passed into an Act in one hour. The Patriot Act allowed the US government to sneak and peck into the lives of the American people and therefore go entrench on the rights of the people set out in the fourth amendment. This shows that the checks and balances and the separation of powers are ineffective in protecting the rights of the individuals of the American people. The constitution contains the Bill of Rights which ... of personal choice in family matters as protected by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. However in many citizens views the Bill of rights has failed t...

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... acts and wartime censorship. The Sedition Act of 1798 gave federal authorities the privilege to bring to trial anybody suspected of plotting against the federal government. This act stopped legitimate political discussion, and was criticized for this reason. People who spoke against the government either bowed to the pressure or were punished because of this act. This act expired in the 1800s and was not renewed ... . Reparations were given to its victims, based on the opinion that they were coherent to the beliefs of the founding fathers and the first amendment. Another Sedition Act was...

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... of that amendment, but whether existing gun laws are sufficient, or if stricter gun laws need to be imposed. Over the years, there have been three major federal statutes that have regulated the possession of firearms. One was the National Firearms Act of 1934, which made it difficult to obtain lethal assault weapons, such as machine guns. It also placed heavy taxes ... on all aspects of the weapons' production and distribution process. The second vital statute was the Gun Control Act of 1968, which mostly required all persons manufacturing, importing, or selling firearms as a business t...

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... , even before ratifying of the Bill of Rights, was the creation of the judiciary branch of government as specified by the Constitution. As a result, the introduction of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was the beginning of the three-tiered Federal Court system and establishment of the US Supreme Court as head of the judicial branch of government. Congress really did not want the courts to have too much ... will upkeep the standards by which the position requires. Moreover, the act of 1789 will come into play and have great impact years later in the Marbury vs. Madison case. In the most importan...

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... who arrested him? I mean were they notAmerica?? I thought this was the land of thefree,? and we got to wear what we wanted to wear. They shouldn't get put out public places because of what is on their shirt. By during this kind of act they are or breaking the 1st amendment, which states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ... of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Therefore you shouldn't ...

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... that responsibility? A quite common phrase is: "Guns don't kill people, it is the people that pull the trigger." Yes, people do the killing, but does that justify the government providing the citizens with the instruments of death. In theory, if all people were to act totally responsibly this dilemma wouldn't exist. The fact of the matter is that a lot of killings occur when a person's judgment is clouded by ... occurrence that often doesn't even get national coverage by the media. The American public is feeling the horrendous effects of violence that the second Amendment brings and many ...

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... to provide guns directly to members of the militia at no cost. The court case in the Supreme Court Printz v. United States that was held in 1997 questioned the constitutionally of a provision of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act which was approved in 1993. The Brady Act creates two alternatives to the gun-selling scheme. A dealer may sell a handgun immediately if the purchaser has a state handgun permit ... a reasonable effort to ascertain within 5 business days whether receipt or possession would be in violation of the law, including research in whatever State and local record k...

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... policies far beyond their delegated powers, even going as far as to nullify some of the President's constitutional powers! Congress took several steps to ensure that their power would not be challenged. Their first step was the 10 Year of Office Act, which took away the President's power to control his Cabinet (which was challenged by Johnson when he fired Edward ... Stanton, leading to his impeachment trial). The next act infringing on the President's rights was the Commander of the Military Act, which actually took away the President's right to control the military. Then they created a...

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... what laws were constitutional and which laws were not. This system still exists. John Marshall - The chief Supreme Court Justice who shaped nearly all of the Court's rulings. Presided over Marbury and Madison and made the judiciary branch coequal with the executive and legislative branches. Embargo Act - The British and the French issued decrees that basically forbade America to trade with either one of them. Britain was ... at this time because of their huge navy - they had been taking people off of American boats (these were people who had deserted the navy in the first place) and for...

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