The 9/11 bombing caused dramatic changes in the lives of many Americans not only because of the sense of unity that came with the painful tragedy of the destruction and loss, but from the United States Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is a law that was passed just 45 days after the 9/11 catastrophe in the name of national security. The Patriot Act enabled investigators to more information possibly associated with terrorist related crimes. The Patriot Act gave a new sense of protection to the American people because they felt that the government had terrorists under surveillance and they were stopping terrorism for good. On the other hand, the War On Terrorism had been declared by President Bush. This war relates to the Patriot Act because to find information on the terrorists, the Patriot Act had to be passed. In other words, the Patriot Act provided the government with personal information from all citizens. The Patriot Act also tightened security in places such as airports and sports events. Citizens and members …show more content…
Some said that the Patriot Act turned ordinary citizens into suspects. The Act gave the government permission to access all American’s emails, financial information, personal information and more. Americans also believe that this law created a lack of privacy because it led to tightening of security at airports, sports games, and even schools. National Security Letters (NSL) have since been able to be issued by FBI agents without being approved by a judge. Between 2003 and 2006, 192,499 NSL’s were filed. This lead to only 1 terrorist conviction. Between 143,074 NSLs filed, there were 53 criminal referrals reported. Of those 53 criminal referrals 17 were for money laundering, 17 were for immigration, 19 involved fraud, and zero were for terrorism. Therefore, citizens believe that this Act is a lack of privacy and waste of time and