"The poorest man can, in his house, defy all the force of the Crown. It can be fragile, its roof can shake, the wind the storm may blow through it; the rain may enter—but the king of England cannot enter; ).This idea of ​​freedom and security from government was the foundation of the United States when it was founded in 1776. However, times have changed dramatically since then. Specifically, the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 led to. a country devastated, panicked and in search of security To “combat the current danger” (George W. Bush) that our country was facing, a bill called the USA Patriot Act was drafted and quickly adopted on October 25, 2001, less. forty-five days after the attacks. This bill allows for large-scale surveillance, secret searches and seizures, and extreme privacy concerns. By dramatically expanding the government's surveillance and investigative powers, the Patriot Act unconstitutionally poses a tremendous threat to this country's civil liberties. This American Patriot Act now grants law enforcement the authority to widely access the Internet searches, phone calls, text messages and emails of American citizens. in anti-terrorism investigations and even in smaller, everyday criminal investigations. “There is evidence that the government has phone log metadata on all Verizon customers, and likely all Americans, going back seven years. This metadata is extremely revealing; investigators looking into it might be able to deduce whether we suffer from an illness or addiction, what our religious affiliations and political activities are, etc. » (Granick, Sprigman). This level of mass investigation...... middle of paper ...... when we are supposed to have the right to freedom of symbolic assembly and petition. This violates the Fifth Amendment because often when a suspected terrorist is taken into custody, a grand jury does not tell them whether there is enough evidence to stand trial. There have been numerous cases over the past decade where American and immigrant suspects are detained indefinitely with little or no evidence that they are connected to an act of terrorism. Since the passage of the Patriot Act in 2001, several legal challenges were filed against it until federal courts ruled that a number of provisions were unconstitutional. Works CitedGranick, Sprigman. “The Criminal NSA” The New York Times. Np, June 27, 2013. Web. October 11, 2013. “How the USA Parriot Act Redefines Terrorism.” American Civil Liberties Union. Np, December 6, 2002. Web. November 17. 2013.