September 11, 2001: Never Forget

On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered an act of terrorism. The events of that day are still affecting the entire country today. Four planes were hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon, and a rural area in southwestern Pennsylvania (Encyclopedia of US History). What really happened on this life-changing day in America, and how does it continue to impact our country? The story of September 11th is full of horrific details, devastating anecdotes, but it ends with actions of courage and bravery from our fellow Americans. 9/11 is a day we will never forget, because of the huge impact immediately made on that day along with the impact that still remains in our country. “September 11 changed everything” (Utley).

The planes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were hit targets as acts of terrorism against the United States. The fourth plane did not make it to its target, but was crashed in a field in Pennsylvania instead. The group responsible for the attacks was a group of Muslim men in the terrorist ring, Al Qaeda (Greenburg). This terrorist group actually made efforts to strike against the United States before. These previous plans have failed but included the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1996 assault on American military barracks in Saudi Arabia, the 1998 bombings of the American embassies, and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole (Greenburg). The four planes were each hijacked by groups of five men from Al Qaeda. The hijackers were armed with box cutters and claimed to have a bomb with which they took control of the plane including the passengers, crew, and pilots (Encyclopedia of US History). The target of the planes was the World Trade Center in downtown New York. One of the hijacked flights, flight United 93, fought back against the hijackers in efforts to save themselves and cause the target of the twin towers to be missed. The passengers got so close to getting into the cockpit and regaining control of the plane, that the terrorists decided to just crash the plane where they were, which was in Pennsylvania.
The attacks immediately triggered complete devastation and feeling of needing revenge from Americans towards the terrorists. Families and friendships were automatically broken when the planes hit the towers. The people of downtown New York weren’t the only ones that were impacted. The entire country took the hit. The United States is a family, and we went down united as one that day. We not only went down as a family, but today we rise above it together also. The fear of more attacks was now in people’s minds, along with a fear of flying. Many people also worried about going into a war, and their fears were confirmed. In response to the attacks against our country, President George Bush immediately declared war against terrorism (Encyclopedia of US History). President Bush understood 9/11 as a declaration of war. To others, it was an immense hate crime. Either way, it catapulted the country into what seems to be a permanent state of war (Kleinfield). After 4 weeks, American and British forces began bombing Afghanistan.
When the towers went down, many people’s lives were instantly ended, and for some the process wasn’t as quick. People on the top floors were forced to jump from the windows to their death, and for the people of New York, this was a disturbing and horrifying image to witness. It brought a new feeling of hatred toward the terrorists, to see their fellow Americans in so much horror. People with loved ones and friends working in the towers’ hearts were shattered the instant the planes hit. Businesses, especially in New York, instantly went into struggle. Today we are still in a struggling economy that was triggered by the events of September 11th. One thing that has really changed in our country since that day is airport security. The security is a lot more tight and difficult to get through. For example now there are machines that can see completely through your clothes and bags to make sure that you will be doing no harm to the plane and those around you. There has been a lot of controversy over the changes in airport security, but it is all a result of the 9/11 attacks. The events that occurred that day were also a deciding factor on Americans new views of terrorism. Nobody truly understood or realized how bad it really was, and now our country is fully aware and ready. I believe that 9/11 changed America forever, but some disagree. “American life has always been about change and facing challenges, and from the Civil War to the Great Depression to World War II, Americans have always risen to confront the monumental events of their times” (Utley).
September 11th, 2001 is a day Americans will never forget, because of the huge impact it had back then, and the impact that still remains in our country. What really happened on 9/11 was an attack against the United States of America. We were attacked through four hijacked planes crashing into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania. One hijacked flight fought back and kept their plane from hitting its target, but the other three planes successfully finished out their plan. The attacks caused immediate pain in American life, and we went to war against terrorism. Lives are just as affected today as they first were on that very day of September 11th. Families still grieve the loss of loved ones and friends that died in the attacks. Some have loved ones in across seas war in foreign countries that were started on September 11th. Our country was scarred, but we were all scarred. We took the hit together as a family of Americans, and we only grew stronger from that day. September 11th is a day that changed our world forever, and will never be forgotten.


Works Cited
"Airport Security since 9/11: How Far Have We Come?" Access Control & Security System Solutions | Security News for Security Industry, Access Control, Theft Prevention, Alarm Professionals. Security Beat. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://securitysolutions.com/news/security_airport_security_far/>.
Greenberg, David. "9/11 Attack." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 6. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 108-109. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2011
Kleinfield, N.R. "Getting here from there." New York Times 11 Sept. 2011: F2(L). Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2011.
"September 11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks." U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermsen. Vol. 7. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 1389-1395. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2011.
"Ten years on." The Economist [US] 3 Sept. 2011: 12(US). Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2011.
Utley, Garrick. "CNN.com - Did 9/11 Change Everything? - September 6, 2002." CNN.com International - Breaking, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment and Video News. CNN, 06 Sept. 2002. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://edition.cnn.com/2002/US/09/06/ar911.changed.america/>.