Title: Patriot Act - HISTORY
Headings: Patriot Act
Patriot Act
Contents
What Is the Patriot Act?
Details of the Patriot Act
Did the Patriot Act Prevent Terrorism?
Patriot Act and Privacy Debate
USA Freedom Act
Sources
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Content: Patriot Act - HISTORY
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Updated: Aug 21, 2018
Original: Dec 19, 2017
Patriot Act
Author: History.com Editors
Contents
What Is the Patriot Act? Details of the Patriot Act
Did the Patriot Act Prevent Terrorism? Patriot Act and Privacy Debate
USA Freedom Act
Sources
The Patriot Act is legislation passed in 2001 to improve the abilities of U.S. law enforcement to detect and deter terrorism. The act’s official title is, “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism,” or USA-PATRIOT. Though the Patriot Act was modified in 2015 to help ensure the Constitutional rights of ordinary Americans, some provisions of the law remain controversial. What Is the Patriot Act? The Patriot Act is a more than 300-page document passed by the U.S. Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001, just weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States.