Over two hundred years ago, the founding fathers of this great nation signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, sending Britain a message they were tired of being submitted to a monarch who had no respect for his people. These extraordinary men understood the concept of freedom and embraced it with great passion. They were all too familiar with the consequences of overreaching government. To prevent America from returning to the streets of Great Britain, they created one of the greatest documents ever written, the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution contains the Bill of Rights which describes in detail the rights guaranteed to citizens of the United States of America. Unfortunately, over the last two hundred years, politicians seem to have lost focus on the principle of personal freedom. One of the most recent examples of this came with the passage of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001. The USA PATRIOT Act is a crucial attack on citizens' rights Americans and a disgrace to the men who fought for their freedoms in the Revolutionary War. There is no doubt that the days following September 11, 2001 were among the most terrifying in the nation's history. The country had been attacked, new reports of anthrax were emerging on letters every day, and many feared that another attack was just around the corner (“Surveillance”). Senator Russ Feingold, the lone opponent of the PATRIOT Act in the U.S. Senate, described the weeks after 9/11 in his book, While America Sleeps (Hulse). He wrote that “The combination of constant security fears with the heavy-handedness…middle of paper…the Atriot law violates civil liberties is unfounded.” The patriotic law. Louise I. Gerdes. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2005. 93-94. Press. “Searching for truth from justice.” American Civil Liberties Union. July 2003. Web. February 23, 2012. “Surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act.” American Civil Liberties Union. December 10, 2010. Network. February 22, 2012. “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 1. “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 4. “The Constitution of the United States,” Amendment 5. “UNITING AND STRENGTHENING AMERICA PROVIDING THE ADEQUATE TOOLS NECESSARY TO INTERCEPT AND OBSTRUCTION OF TERRORISM (USA PATRIOT ACT) ACT OF 2001." PUB. L.107-56. 115 STAT. 272. October 26, 2001. Web.Webster, Michael. “Patriot Law Unconstitutional.” Renewing America. April 19, 2009. Web.February 21 2012.