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This page shows questions in the National Security public release module at MSDE. American Government
"National Security"

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Expand All Official Practice Test

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A class has been learning about the foreign policy goals of the United States, including national security, and about individual freedoms guaranteed to citizens. The teacher asked the class to consider whether the government should prioritize individual freedoms or national security when making new policies. The student’s compelling question is this:

In times of national crisis, should the government be able to limit individual freedoms to protect national security?

The student has found the following sources. Use the sources to answer the questions that follow.

Background Information

On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States. This led to massive changes in how the United States addressed national security. The Department of Homeland Security was created to oversee the national strategy to protect the nation against terrorism and respond to any future attacks.

The USA PATRIOT Act (2001) was designed to give law enforcement officers the ability to detect and prevent terrorism. It allowed law enforcement to expand their use of surveillance and wiretapping to investigate terrorism. An amendment in 2008 allowed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to authorize warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international electronic communications (such as emails, Internet calls, etc.).

Critics of these provisions claim that they violate individual rights. This increased focus on protecting the United States from national security threats since 9/11 has led to a debate over the nation’s priorities.

Key Terms:

  • surveillance—close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal
  • wiretap—an act of using a listening device to conduct surveillance, typically over a phone line

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Source Information: Procon.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public charity that uses professional research to review controversial topics and present a balanced view of both sides of the issue. ProCon’s mission is to promote civility, critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting the arguments for and against different issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, freely accessible way. For most of its tenure as a nonprofit organization (2004–20), ProCon received funding from outside sources, including private companies, foundations, and individual donors. Since 2020, ProCon has been part of the Britannica Group of companies, which includes Encyclopædia Britannica.

Source A

Pros & Cons of the USA PATRIOT Act
Pro Con
  • Gives the federal government the tools they need to effectively protect the nation from terrorism
  • Updates U.S. laws in response to current Internet environment
  • Actually enhances civil liberties by protecting national freedoms
  • Was passed too quickly after 9/11 without much consideration of the effects on personal liberties
  • Gives unnecessary and permanent powers to the federal government that violate civil liberties
  • Violates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure
Source: Procon.org
 Source: Procon.org

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Source Information: John Ashcroft served as the U.S. Attorney General from 2001 to 2005 during the George W. Bush administration. The U.S. Attorney General is the leader of the Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. Ashcroft gave this speech in Boise, Idaho, while touring the country to promote the USA PATRIOT Act. Ashcroft stepped down as Attorney General in February 2005.

Source B

“First, the Patriot Act provides critical investigative tools to law enforcement. The Patriot Act gives investigators the ability to fight terror, using many of the court-approved tools that have been used successfully for many years in drug, fraud, and organized crime cases. For instance, the Patriot Act allows agents to conduct investigations without tipping off terrorists.  . . . 

“Second, the Patriot Act brings our laws up to date with modern technology. In an age when terrorists have cellular, even satellite, phones, we must anticipate, out-think, and adapt to the new tactics and technology of our terrorist foes. Under the Patriot Act, prosecutors may now use a ‘roving wiretap’ to track a terror suspect’s communication even when the suspected terrorist switches, changes, or abandons phones to avoid detection.  . . . 

“Third, the Patriot Act has expanded our capacity to build strong teams—teams that many of you are a part of—teams dedicated to uncovering and stopping terrorists before they strike. We have stronger teams today because law enforcement and federal prosecutors can now share information and cooperate better with each other. From police officers to FBI agents to prosecutors and intelligence agents, the Patriot Act allows our expanded teams to ‘connect the dots’ and save lives.”

—Attorney General John Ashcroft, August 25, 2003

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Source Information: This article was written by a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) shortly before a federal appeals court was scheduled to review the constitutionality of a federal surveillance program. The ACLU is a nationwide nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to defend and preserve individual rights and liberties protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Source C

“A federal court will be [carefully examining] one of the National Security Agency’s worst spying programs on Monday. The case has the potential to restore crucial privacy protections for the millions of Americans who use the internet to communicate with family, friends, and others overseas.

“The unconstitutional surveillance program at issue is called PRISM1, under which the NSA,2 FBI,3 and CIA4 gather and search through Americans’ international emails, internet calls, and chats without obtaining a warrant.  . . . 

“The government attempts to defend this spying by pointing out that its ‘targets’ are foreigners located abroad. But this is no defense at all. Americans regularly communicate with individuals overseas, and the government uses  . . .  surveillance to collect and sift through many of these private communications.  . . . 

“Now the courts must do their part to ensure that Americans’ online communications receive the full protection of the Fourth Amendment.”

—Patrick Toomey,
“The NSA Continues to Violate Americans’ Internet Privacy Rights.” ACLU.org

1PRISM—stands for “Planning Tool for Resource Integration, Synchronization, and Management,” and is a “data tool” designed to collect and process “foreign intelligence” that passes through American servers

2NSA—National Security Agency

3FBI—Federal Bureau of Investigation

4CIA—Central Intelligence Agency

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Source Information: Rick McKee has been an award-winning political cartoonist for the Augusta Chronicle since 1998. His cartoons have appeared in numerous publications including Newsweek, USA Today, and the New York Times and have been featured on CNN Headline News and the Fox News Channel. He authored a book of cartoons titled Painting with a Broad Brush. He has said, “I see my job as boiling down the essence of the news of the day into an easily digestible visual form that will, hopefully, cause the reader to think.”

Source D

A large man in a black trench coat and hat and a name tag that says N S A grabs a smaller man wearing a stars and stripes outfit with an American flag on his hat, holding a cellphone. The large man says, Relax, Im not listening in on your phone call ... I just want to know who youre calling, how often, how long, and from where. Thats all.

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Source Information: Stuart S. Taylor is a freelance author and journalist focusing on legal and policy issues. In the past, he has taught at Stanford Law School and reported on the Supreme Court for National Journal. His award-winning articles have appeared in a wide variety of national publications. He wrote the following article which appears on the website of the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

Source E

“When dangers increase, liberties shrink. That has been our history, especially in wartime. And today we face dangers without precedent  . . . 

“How can we avert catastrophe and hold down the number of [civilian casualties]? Our best hope is to prevent al-Qaida from getting nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons and smuggling them into this country.  . . . 

“The urgency of penetrating secret terrorist cells makes it imperative for Congress—and the nation—to undertake a candid, searching, and systematic reassessment of the civil liberties rules that restrict the government’s core investigative and detention powers. Robust national debate and deliberate congressional action should replace what has so far been largely ad hoc1 presidential improvisation. While the USA PATRIOT Act—no model of careful deliberation—changed many rules for the better (and some for the worse), it did not touch some others that should be changed.

“Carefully crafted new legislation would be good not only for security but also for liberty.  . . . ”

—Stuart S. Taylor, “Rights, Liberties, and Security: Recalibrating the Balance after September 11.”
Brookings Institution, 2003

1ad hoc—when necessary or needed

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Claim: By 2001, technological advances had often gone beyond what the existing legal system could address.

Which part of Source A provides the best evidence that the USA PATRIOT Act tried to address this claim?

  1. A.
    “Updates U.S. law in response to current Internet environment”
  2. B.
    “Violates the Fourth Amendment protection of unreasonable search and seizure”
  3. C.
    “Was passed too quickly after 9/11 without much consideration of effects on personal liberties”
  4. D.
    “Actually enhances civil liberties by protecting national freedoms”

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Who created Source C?

  1. A.
    an advocate for personal freedoms
  2. B.
    a journalist at a public newspaper
  3. C.
    a federal court judge
  4. D.
    an expert on the Constitution

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

Which claim is made in both Source C and Source D?

  1. A.
    Congress should increase cell phone regulation.
  2. B.
    Privacy rights prevent effective national security.
  3. C.
    Government surveillance is a privacy violation.
  4. D.
    Telephone regulation should be limited to international calls.

This is a multiple choice question that allows you to select only one option.

What aspect of Source D most supports the artist’s viewpoint about the importance of individual rights?

  1. A.
    the clothing of the man with the cell phone
  2. B.
    the artist’s professional experience
  3. C.
    the size of the NSA agent
  4. D.
    the year of its publication

This is a test question that allows you to enter extended text in your response.

Assume that the information provided in the sources is credible. Complete the following extended-response question:

In times of national crisis, should the government be able to limit individual freedoms to protect national security?

  • Develop a claim in response to the question.
  • Cite evidence from the provided sources to support your claim.
  • Use your knowledge of government in your response.

Type your answer in the space provided.