Work for Monday April 25th

Option I

Go to the website http://vault.fbi.gov/reading-room-index

This is a collection of partially redacted FBI files for various Americans. The video we watched mentioned that the FBI followed Eleanor Roosevelt and maintained a file on her life and activities. This collection includes her file as well as many others.

Each person in the group should choose at least two people on the list and explore their files. Consider each of the following:

How much of the file is redacted?

Does this person appear to be engaged in illegal activity?

If so, what is it?

If not, why do you think the FBI maintained the file?

Option II

The website www.trackedinamerica.org contains information about surveillance from different periods of American history.

Look through the information. Look in depth at at least one of these eras and familiarize yourself with the events that are described.

Also compare the eras to each other and consider what has or hasn't changed over time.

Look at who was president during each time period and which political party they represented. Is this a partisan issue? - that is, is one party better or worse than the other when it comes to surveillance and domestic intelligence activities?

Option III

Use the website http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_secret_wiretaps,00.shtml

Read through some of the Time magazine articles related to privacy and wiretapping.

1) What are some of the common issues raised over the years?

2) What attitudes about wiretapping and surveillance are expressed by the people quoted in the articles?

3) How do the issues change over the years between 1928 and 1978?