Preview

Why Is Edward Snowden A Traitor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1569 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is Edward Snowden A Traitor
Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower

[15]Edward Snowden is the person who leaked the information about large amount of data collected by the National Security Agency and many other intelligence groups in United States over phone and internet. His revelations were made to The Guardian and The Washington Post. [16] This created strong debates in US regarding information privacy and national security.
[17][18][19]Edward Snowden was born on June 21, 1983 in the Elisabeth city in North Carolina. He lived there for many years with his family and then moved to Maryland. His father Lonnie was a coast guard and his mother Elizabeth called as Wendy worked at the federal court in Baltimore as chief deputy clerk for administration and information technology.
…show more content…
The reasons why he is considered as traitor are as follows. Snowden by his revelation put all the American’s into threat. Hs activity was a clear violation of law. Lawmakers say that PRISM is essential to prevent terrorism. Media and others glorified him because he sacrificed himself to expose the government snooping. He will go down in the history as one of the greatest whistle blowers. Most of the Americans did not want mass surveillance. Thousands of people signed the White House Petition to pardon him. He considered humanity was compromised by doing this spying work. The awards and recognition bestowed upon him suggest that he was protecting democratic values such as privacy of information, internet freedom and basic liberties for people through the whistle blowing .Whistle blowing here was used as a measure for social health care. It was used to prevent people from posting unwanted information on internets and over phones as they are spied upon. Though Snowden is recognized as a traitor to some, his main intention was to preserve the public interest. If his motives were different he could have done more against America with the amount of data he

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents Gabriele and Teresina (Teresa) Capone, they moved from Italy and Al Capone was born shortly after the got to America. While Capone was in school he was a very good student, but when he had to repeat the…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benedict Arnold was a brave and cunning American general who became known as the greatest traitor in American history. Born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich CT, Arnold quickly developed an unsavory and violent personality, which lasted until the day he died on June 14, 1801. He started out his life in debt, but became a successful sea merchant and smuggler who served in the French and Indian War. By age 25, he was the leader of a rebel group, the Sons of Liberty, in New Haven, Connecticut, and later he went on to fight in the revolutionary war, and was appointed by General George Washington to be the military governor of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, after becoming Commander of the American installation at West Point, he used his position to attempt to betray the American forces by turning over West Point, and its 3000 American troops, to the British for a large sum of money. This act of treason is why his name is synonymous with the word “traitor.”…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America After 9/11 Essay

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Only Two months after 9/11 the federal government expanded the capability of National Security Agency (NSA) they gained access to gather data on U.S. citizens, in addition to foreign nationals and governments. This was not mentioned to the public until 2013 when Edward Snowden revealed the extent of NSA´s spying program.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benedict Arnold was highly regarded as America's greatest Revolutionary general. Due to his high rank on the battlefield it seemed most unlikely that Arnold would retreat to the other side. "Arnold has betrayed us. Whom can we trust now?" asked George Washington who felt that no one could be trusted once Arnold had betrayed his country of which he had shown so much love for. Arnold had been a die-hard patriot who at the Boston Massacre asked if the Americans were asleep, waiting to be robbed of their liberty. Yet he has gone down in history as a villain of America, a despised traitor instead of the hero he was for both America and England. His name has become known for a traitor’s name. He was America's first traitor. Despite the criticism that Arnold has received, he was, in his own eyes and to a few others, justified in his traitorous actions. No matter which way historians look at it, Benedict Arnold was actually justified in his traitorous acts. His contributions and accomplishments have been overlooked on the battlefield, and his financial status had been destabilized through numerous fines and helped none by the overlooking of Congress to pay him his salary. Although Arnold was not punished by Congress as they were convinced by Samuel Adams that the accusations against Arnold were false, his pride was wounded severely and he would not forget this wrong against him. Not too long after this incident he suffered another blow to his pride. This was a very personal injury. The Continental Congress appointed five new major generals. To Arnold's shock and disappointment he was not one of them. All five of them had been brigadier generals just like him but they were all junior to him and vastly inferior in military ability. It was one of a number of slights during his military career that helped to sow the seeds of treason in his mind. The first actual "snub" to Benedict Arnold's pride took place in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold learned that there were…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nearly three years ago, in 2013, Edward Snowden – a former American National Security Agency (N.S.A.) contractor – leaked anywhere from a hundred to two hundred thousand classified documents, that proved the existence of massive global surveillance, including of American citizens as well as top world leaders, run by the USA with the active cooperation of many allied governments as well as telecommunication and technology companies.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I think Benedict Arnold deserves this dishonor as America's greatest traitor. It is true that Arnold helped very much at the Battle of Quebec and Saratoga, getting his leg wounded. Arnold wanted the fame and the money for his country though. Benedict Arnold’s father was an early Patriot, so Arnold probably followed the lead of his father. He wanted to restore his family name to whatever the cost, but instead he ruined it. The James Reed Council had been closely investigating his actions. Benedict Arnold was constantly going to Loyalists’ houses, dancing with the women, and having parties with them. Benedict Arnold used George Washington selfishly, for his own purpose to be in charge of West Point, one of the most important forts for America. In the reply of Washington saying that he wanted to postpone the trial, Arnold said, “Delay in the present case is worse than death.” It was just some time later that he met with Joseph Stansbury, a close Loyalist, to discuss his ideas about joining the British army. There he sent coded messages to John Andre to discuss with Henry Clinton. He plotted a plan to get rid of the American army. Benedict wanted to be on the winning side of the war, so he could get most of the credit. Arnold was even trying to plot more plans when Ande died. He also used Joshua…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elie was born on September 30, 1928. He was born in Sighet, Transylvania, which is now Romania (“Elie Wiesel Biography”). The Wiesel family consists of Sholmo, Sarah, Hilda, Bea, Eliezer, and Tsiporah (Aikman). His was given the birth name Eliezer (“Elie Wiesel Biography”). In his home town, his father owned a small grocery store (“Elie Wiesel Biography”).…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When all government employees sign this oath they are informed of the consequences they will receive if it is broken. Snowden stated that he did not sign an oath. When interviewed by the Washington Post’s Barton Gellman, Snowden told him that he did sign a document – but it was a condition of his employment. After looking into the government files, it has been proven that Snowden did take an oath. So not only did he leak classified information to other countries, but then he lies about whether or not he took an oath when he started working for the company where he got the classified information from. Even if he had only taken the agreement the punishment for his crimes would still be civil. The Oath of Office is the oath Snowden and all other American government officials take: “I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God” (Davidson). Snowden did not do his duty as a federal government employee. He did not keep his allegiance to his country, and any person that supports him is not keeping their allegiance…

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Snowden copied classified information from the N.S.A. Edward had copied classified information and decided to show it to everyone. What Snowden did harmed the United States because Coping Classified…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Edward Snowden is a criminal, yet known as a hero. He knew the consequences if he released the private information to the public. He simply wanted to let America know what actions the government is doing today. He confirmed that the U.S. government, without having any proof of a warrant, collects phone call logs and keeps them in file. The second leak he announced was the N.S.A., who wants to track down foreign suspects, and or criminals, has the capacity to access emails from U.S. based Internet companies. Most people were in disbelief about this information because they thought they had their own freedom on the internet and taking phone calls. Others did not react to Snowden's information because they already suspected it. Either way, this issue is important to be aware about because it can let citizens know what the N.S.A is capable of doing.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Snowden Argument

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edward Snowden was a hot topic in the news in 2013 after he released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media. This leak contained information about global surveillance performed by the United States, which involved monitoring email, tracking cell phones, and logging phone calls. Not only did this action force him into asylum overseas to avoid arrest, but it ultimately caused an uproar in the media and amongst the American public. The controversy surrounding Snowden involves the rights of the public vs. the surveillance programs performed by the U.S. While many condemn Snowden for betraying the national security of his country, many applaud him for exposing the…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The average kid grows up learning that Benedict Arnold is known as the one of the greatest leaders of all times. He was a well-respected general but yet congress would not acknowledge him for his heroism. Displaying this betray towards the once loved general was shown at freeman's farm, the once place Benedict Arnold fought in the great Saratoga battle. There the famous boot monument stands displaying not only Arnold's heroism but treason as well. The "boot monument” tells the story of his wounded left leg during the great Saratoga battle. On the contrary, the monument does not display his name. This factor is because of his recorded history of treason. It is clearly shown that the monument represents benedict Arnold, but because so many people feel strongly about not having a traitor honored at a memorial sight; his name just could not be displayed. The fact of the matter is Benedict Arnold was a true die hard American and would do anything for his country; but He also shares the name as the biggest American traitor in history. Which is it? Does benedict hold the name for greatest leader of all time or traitor? Although the question is a great debate there are factors that support both ends.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    meow

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In May 2013, Edward Snowden, a CIA and NSA employee, risked his career and freedom to do something he felt was right; let the world know that the United States had programs such as the interception of telephone metadata, PRISM, XKeyscore, and Tempora internet surveillance programs. This was called the most significant leak in US history by some and sparked up the discussion about the balance between national security and civil liberties. The country needs to strike a balance between national security and civil liberties by sacrificing some of one to give way for more of the other.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    NSA leaked

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On June 5, 2013, The Guardian revealed the first documents, culled from tens of thousands, about the United States’ and U.K.’s surveillance programs, leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. At the time, only a handful of people at The Guardian and The Washington Post had any idea how many more disclosures were to come.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    domestic terrorism

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Snowden duty was to keep the secrets of the U.S as a technical contractor at the CIA and NSA. He was obligated to do as he was told by his superiors, even if he disagreed. As a result of his disagreement he betrayed the very organizations that are keeping the citizens of the U.S.A safe. One example would be the bombing on September 16, 1920. According to Pro Quest Staff.”At Issue: Domestic Terrorism.” Proquest LLC. “An early example of domestic terrorism occurred on Sept. 16 1920, when 38 people were killed after a bomb exploded on Wall Street in the financial district of New York City (Proquest Staff). The documents Snowden released all have a purpose. The U.S.A has to not only look out for terrorist around the globe but the people in their own territory as well. Referring back to Serrano, Richard A.”Americans Radicalized by Al Qaeda Are a Big Concern.”Los Angeles Times. “ We are focused on trying to figure out what our people are up—who should be spoken to, who should be followed, who should be charged”(Serrano). There is too many people and very little trustworthy citizens. For those who are loyal deserve the best national security and that is why we would monitor foreign countries and monitor the people of the U.S.A. Snowden ideal was nothing but his own selfish opinion. American are now exposed to terrorist online and…

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays