Essay on Patriot Act

Submitted By johnw1995
Words: 588
Pages: 3

Throughout history, there have been many events that have threatened our nation’s security that has caused our government to take extreme precautions. During World War II, when the Japanese were a threat, the U.S. passed executive order 9066 and after 9/11 they passed the USA Patriot Act. Both of these actions caused certain groups to be discriminated against and prevented them from having equal rights. Some question whether the loss of civil rights is worth that safety. Due to the fact that the power is often used in excess or abused such as during WWII and after 9/11, governments should not have the right to suspend citizens’ civil rights in the name of safety and security. It also goes against our own constitution. During World War II, when the United States was in war with Japan, Executive Order 9066 was passed due to the fear of Japanese spies because there were many Japanese living within military bases. What this order did was that it allowed the military to ban any citizen from a fifty to sixty mile wide coastal area and send them to assembly centers. (Document J) In consequence, the U.S. had to provide shelter, food, and transportation for those forced to move. But the Japanese suffered the most. They were discriminated against (many were wrongfully detained), forced into the camps, which had terrible living conditions, and had lost many rights including having a curfew and limitations of where they could go. This order made life terrible for the Japanese and I feel all this was a bit too much. And it even went as far as suspending the rights of the Japanese, which goes against the equal rights amendment of the Constitution. Also, after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the U.S. passed the U.S. Patriot Act to prevent terrorism. It included giving the government the right to tap into phones, searching without warrants, and surveillance of bank accounts and internet records. (Doc E) I found this very angering because it is an invasion of privacy. Nobody should be able to access those things besides you, even in the name of security. And having access to all this won’t necessarily stop terrorism because there are so many people and so many different ways to communicate it is impossible to track everybody down at the same time. The Patriot Act also