Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the deadliest in US history. Their effects profoundly reshaped American society and the world. The day still resonates deeply: 93% of Americans who were at least 10 years old on 9/11 say they remember exactly where they were when they heard the news.
> Decades of instability in the Middle East gave rise to al-Qaida. (More, w/video)
> President George W. Bush explained his very public initial reaction to the attacks during a visit to a second-grade classroom. (More, w/video)
> View artifacts at the Smithsonian that tell the story of 9/11. (More, w/photos)
In response to 9/11, the US launched the Global War on Terror, beginning the longest military engagement in American history. Domestically, the government passed the Patriot Act, created the Department of Homeland Security, and transformed airport security while implementing controversial detention and interrogation policies.
> Read how the attacks reshaped US foreign and military policy for decades. (More)
> The Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed days after 9/11, has been used by five administrations to justify military operations in 22 countries. (More)
> See Also: Netflix’s outstanding five-part documentary on how 9/11 and the War on Terror changed America. (Watch trailer)
More than 400 first responders died on 9/11, the largest loss of emergency personnel on a single day in American history. More than 10,000 members of the New York Fire Department have been diagnosed with at least one condition related to the World Trade Center’s collapse, nearly 4,500 of which are cancers.
> Hear from heroic firefighters who were there and loved ones of those who died that day. (More, w/video)
> 9/11 first responders still deal with significant mental and physical impairments. (More)
Discover more:
> Queen Elizabeth II ordered the US national anthem played at Buckingham Palace after the attacks. (More, w/video)
> Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to call Bush after 9/11, and visited the US two months later. (More)
> Watch Jon Stewart’s unifying opening monologue during his first show back after the tragedy. (More, w/video)
> Hear the story behind President Bush’s first pitch at the World Series in NYC, less than two months after 9/11. (More, w/video)
