Patriot Act Dbq

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Following the attacks that occurred on 9/11, the United States government established the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was put into place to ensure the safety of the citizens of the United States by enhancing the security of the country. The act revised the nation’s surveillance laws, expanding the government’s authority to look into the records of citizens. This law also reduced the judicial oversight, public accountability and the ability to challenge government searches in court. These alterations and additions to the surveillance of the United States was said to ensure the safety of the people from ever having to experience any terrorist attack like the one that happened on 9/11. Although the act was intended to protect the citizens and …show more content…
The act itself was not created just because of the attacks that occurred on 9/11, but was initially created years before. Bush’s administration took the chance to bully and scare the Senate, Congress, and House of Representatives into signing the act, which they had turned down multiple times before. His administration did this by implying that any members who wouldn’t participate in the signing of the act would be blamed for any further attacks in relation to terrorism ("Surveillance Under the USA/PATRIOT Act" 2). The predicament that the administration put these authoritative people in shows how the lengths they would take to pursue the signing of the Patriot Act. Not only were the Senate, Congress and House of Representatives manipulated into signing the act, but also they had little time to even revise it. The administration made that process unbelievably quick so that these authorities didn’t have enough time to go over the act and debate it like they did many times prior to the attacks. The Senate, Congress and House of Representatives complained that they didn’t have enough time to look over the act since there was no debate, no discussion or hearing as the act went straight to the floor for voting. One of the reasons Bush’s administration was quickening the process of the signing of the bill was

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