John Ashcroft was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 9, 1942 and was raised in Springfield, Missouri. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and was award his Juris Doctor at the University of Chicago Law School in 1967. He taught business law at Southwest Missouri State University until 1973, when he entered Missouri politics when he was appointed state auditor. He was first elected state attorney general in 1976 and was re-elected to the post four years later. In 1984, he won the office of governor, which he held on to for two terms. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1994, only to lose in the 2000 election to the recently deceased Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan.
Following his Senate loss, President-elect George W. Bush nominated him for the post of attorney general. During the confirmation process, Ashcroft faced intense scrutiny from members of the Senate about his attitudes towards African-Americans, homosexuality, and his ability to uphold United States law in light of his conservative religious beliefs. His is a devout member of the Assembly of God church and well-known throughout his political career as both a fiscally and socially conservative. Ultimately, the Senate voted to confirm with a split of 58 to 42.
Attorney General Ashcroft tendered his resignation shortly following the November 2, 2004 re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States. He will remain in office until his successor is confirmed by the United States Senate.
Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 was introduced. Better known as the USA PATRIOT Act, the bill had John Ashcroft as one of its chief proponents. After its introduction, Attorney General Ashcroft insisted that it be passed within a week and without any changes. Even though Senator Patrick Leahy, democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time, did seek changes from the Justice Department, the majority leader, Senator Tom Daschle, sought unanimous consent from the Senate for the bill without either debate or changes to the bill. It ultimately passed with only Wisconsin’s democratic Senator Russ Feingold in objection.
The Patriot Act served to expand the investigative authority of the government and its law enforcement agencies without any regard for civil liberties. These were sweeping changes to United States law with amendments to including but not limited the following law:
Additionally, section 215 of the Patriot Act expanded the powers of law enforcement agencies to obtain patron information and circulation records from libraries. Basically, the Patriot Act gives law enforcement agencies the right to monitor people in public areas without evidence that a crime has been committed. Links with additional information regarding the USA PATRIOT Act can be found below.
American Library Association and the Patriot Act
Text of H.R. 3162 as presented in United States Senate in October 2001, later to become known as the Patriot Act
Text of the Patriot Act at the ACLU Website
Electronic Privacy Information Center: News, history, analysis, and other resources regarding the USA Patriot Act
Brown, Cynthia, ed. Lost Liberties: Ashcroft and the Assault on Personal Freedom. New York: The New Press, 2003.
Pitt, William Rivers. The Greatest Sedition is Silence. Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2003.
Rauch, Robert. “Ashcroft, John.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Accessed 28 October 2004 http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocid=9389973
Walker, Samuel. Civil Liberties in America: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2004.
Photograph courtesy of the United States Department of Justice website.
This page is part of the Dead Germans Project of IS 490: Information Environment, taught by Dr. Gretchen Whitney at the UTK School of Information Sciences. Page design © Rachel Kirkland, 2004. All rights reserved.