On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked New York City’s World Trade Center towers. This was the first time since the Revolutionary War that America was attacked on its own soil. The attacks were unprecedented, and the government never saw it coming. For millions of Americans an unwanted new world order was coming in the days ahead, where even the most secure places in the country would be placed under tighter security and be in a lockdown type of situation. Because of the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act in 2001. Citizen privacy was abridged. The government had increased its ability to intrude on peoples’ private lives. Security policies of the United States were, supposedly, strengthened by being able to wiretap and use various other surveillance techniques without warning or acknowledgement, thereby infringing on individuals’ daily lives and lessening their personal freedom. President George W. Bush signed into law the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act by all means is one of the most debated acts in United States history. That bill was intended to radically increase government powers of investigation and prosecution. From 2001 until now, the debate about the loss of personal liberty and constitutionality continues.
October 26, 2001 is the exact date that the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act went into effect. It allowed citizen privacy to be reduced. Many people oppose the act and feel that the Patriot Act invades too much on their civil liberties. The Patriot Act gives full authority to federal law enforcement agencies to search anything they want at any given time. This is the part of the Act that terrifies many. It has to be understood that enforcement officers are generally acting upon unguaranteed information at the beginning of their investigations. “The government has the right to rifle through individuals financial records,