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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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Write key words, phrases and quotes from the people that capture the Human Story. Explain what these uncover about the day from the human perspective.

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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What is the timeline of events. How did the day unfold? 

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Note for screen reader users: once expanded, the first four items of the navigation menu have some associated content which may provide additional information of interest. These sections can be located by jumping to the level 3 heading which follows each sub-menu.

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From the archives: George W. Bush's Oval Office speech on 9/11

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On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack claimed the lives of almost 3,000 Americans. NBC News goes to the archives to revisit President George W. Bush's address to the nation from the Oval Office.

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Write key words and phrases and quotes from the people that capture how this event creates and fits into a Global Story. Make links here to terrorism in a global sense

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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Research and investigate how this event changed America and the world. What is the new story 20 years on?

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World Trade Center

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767-United Airlines Flight 175-appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center and sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor.

The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and onto the streets below. It immediately became clear that America was under attack.

Osama bin Laden

The hijackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by the al Qaeda terrorist organization of Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America's support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.

Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country in the months before September 11 and acted as the "muscle" in the operation.

Where Did the 9/11 Planes Take Off From?

The 19 terrorists smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports-Logan International Airport in Boston, Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. and Newark International Airport in New Jersey-and boarded four early-morning flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles.

Pentagon Attack

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m.

Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building, which is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense.

All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Twin Towers Collapse

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke.

The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel.

At 10:30 a.m., the north building of the twin towers collapsed. Only 18 people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of the collapse survived. Most were with a group of FDNY firefighters in the North Tower's Stairwell B, which remained intact. One woman survived after the stairs she was rushing down disintegrated around her. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Flight 93

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane- United Flight 93-was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground.

Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection.

One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There's three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey." Another passenger-Todd Beamer-was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line.

Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m.

All 44 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

How Many People Died in the 9/11 Attacks?

A total of 2,996 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 terrorist hijackers aboard the four airplanes. Citizens of 78 countries died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

At the World Trade Center, 2,763 died after the two planes slammed into the twin towers. That figure includes 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors.

At the Pentagon, 189 people were killed, including 64 on American Airlines Flight 77, the airliner that struck the building. On Flight 93, 44 people died when the plane crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

America Responds to the Attacks

At 7 p.m., President George W. Bush, who was in Florida at the time of the attacks and had spent the day being shuttled around the country because of security concerns, returned to the White House.

At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

In a reference to the eventual U.S. military response he declared, "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Operation Enduring Freedom, the American-led international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network based there, began on October 7. Within two months, U.S. forces had effectively removed the Taliban from operational power, but the war continued, as U.S. and coalition forces attempted to defeat a Taliban insurgency campaign based in neighboring Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, remained at large until May 2, 2011, when he was finally tracked down and killed by U.S. forces at a hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In June 2011, then-President Barack Obama announced the beginning of large-scale troop withdrawals from Afghanistan; it took until August 2021 for all U.S. forces to withdraw.

Department of Homeland Security Is Created

In the wake of security fears raised by 9/11 and the mailing of letters containing anthrax that killed two and infected 17, The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 25, 2002. Today, the Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet responsible for preventing terror attacks, border security, immigrations and customs and disaster relief and prevention.

The act was followed two days later by the formation of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The bipartisan " 9/11 Commission," as it came to be known, was charged with investigating the events that lead up to September 11th. The 9/11 Commission Report was released on July 22, 2004. It named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind 9/11, "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks."

Mohammed led propaganda operations for al Qaeda from 1999-2001. He was captured on March 1, 2003 by the Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and interrogated before being imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay detention camp with four other accused terrorists charged with 9/11-related war crimes. The use of torture, including waterboarding, during Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's interrogation has received international attention. In August 2019, a U.S. military court judge in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba set a trial date for Mohammed and the other four men charged with plotting the 9/11 terrorist attacks to begin in 2021; it was later postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic Impact of 9/11

The 9/11 attacks had an immediate negative effect on the U.S. economy. Many Wall Street institutions, including the New York Stock Exchange, were evacuated during the attacks. On the first day of trading after the attacks, the market fell 7.1 percent, or 684 points. New York City's economy alone lost 143,000 jobs a month and $2.8 billion wages in the first three months. The heaviest losses were in finance and air transportation, which accounted for 60 percent of lost jobs. The estimated cost of the World Trade Center damage is $60 billion. The cost to clean the debris at Ground Zero was $750 million.

Victim Compensation Fund

Thousands of first responders and people working and living in lower Manhattan near Ground Zero were exposed to toxic fumes and particles emanating from the towers as they burned and fell. By 2018, 10,000 people were diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer.

From 2001 to 2004, over $7 billion dollars in compensation was given to families of the 9/11 victims and the 2,680 people injured in the attacks. Funding was renewed on January 2, 2011, when President Barack Obama signed The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act into law. Named for James Zadroga, a New York City Police officer who died of respiratory disease he contracted after rescuing people from the rubble at Ground Zero, the law continued health monitoring and compensation for 9/11 first responders and survivors.

In 2015, funding for the treatment of 9/11-related illness was renewed for five more years at a total of $7.4 billion. The Victim Compensation Fund was set to stop accepting claims in December 2020.

On July 29, 2019, then-President Trump signed a law authorizing support for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092. Previously, administrators had cut benefits by up to 70 percent as the $7.4 billion fund depleted. Vocal lobbyists for the fund included Jon Stewart, 9/11 first responder John Feal and retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez, who died of cancer 18 days after testifying before Congress.

Anniversary and Memorial

On December 18, 2001, Congress approved naming September 11 "Patriot Day" to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In 2009, Congress named September 11 a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The first memorials to September 11 came in the immediate wake of the attacks, with candlelight vigils and flower tributes at U.S. embassies around the world. In Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth sang the American national anthem during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Rio de Janeiro put up billboards showing the city's Christ the Redeemer statue embracing the New York City skyline.

For the first anniversary of the attacks in New York City in 2002, two bright columns of light were shot up into the sky from where the Twin Towers once stood. The "Tribute in Light" then became an annual installation run by the Municipal Art Society of New York. On clear nights, the beams are visible from over 60 miles away.

A World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was held to select an appropriate permanent memorial to the victims of 9/11. The winning design by Michael Arad, "Reflecting Absence," now sits outside the museum in an eight-acre park. It consists of two reflecting pools with waterfalls rushing down where the Twin Towers once rose into the sky.

The names of all 2,983 victims are engraved on the 152 bronze panels surrounding the pools, arranged by where individuals were on the day of the attacks, so coworkers and people on the same flight are memorialized together. The site was opened to the public on September 11, 2011, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum followed, opening on the original World Trade Center site in May 2014. The Freedom Tower, also on the original World Trade Center site, opened in November 2014.

Sources

"Study Confirms 9/11 Impact on New York City Economy." The New York Times
"September 11: nearly 10,000 people affected by 'cesspool of cancer.'" The Guardian.
"Congress passes 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund extension championed by Jon Stewart." CNN.com
The Encyclopedia of 9/11. New York Magazine.
FAQ About 9/11. 9/11 Memorial.
September 11th Terror Attacks Fast Facts. CNN.
9/11 Death Statistics. StatisticBrain.com.

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September 11 Attacks: Facts, Background & Impact

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On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center? Card knew that America was in the middle of an emergency. He had to decide what to tell the president -- and how. But he didn't want to provoke a reaction or cause a response from the president as he was sitting in front of the news cameras surrounded by elementary school children. Card decided that his message would be short and direct. He told the president, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."

In doing so, Card activated one of the most covert and never-before-used plans of the federal government: Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), which was stipulated in Presidential Decision Directive 67 by the Clinton administration in 1998.

The directive laid out the response of federal executive branch agencies during a national emergency. The Sept. 11 attacks were the first test.

Under the COOP plan, federal agencies are assigned different functions to protect federal government operations. The Secret Service, under 18 USC 3056, has the prime responsibility to protect the president, the vice president and other leaders in the government. On 9/11, the Secret Service was thrust into the very real scenario of an unknown actor possibly targeting the president and trying to decapitate the government.

The attacks also put the president's Secret Service detail leader as commander of any government assets, including the Department of Defense. For the Secret Service, the first goal was to get the president back on Air Force One.

In Washington, D.C., Vice President Dick Cheney sat in the White House with others trying to manage the attacks in a building that was now considered a target. Down the street from the White House, Secret Service Director Brian Stafford, a Vietnam veteran, oversaw the Director's Crisis Center, which became the defacto control point for the relocation of every Secret Service protectee.

As officials in the Director's Crisis Center worked to get their arms around the crisis, the Secret Service office in New York at 7 World Trade Center was holding a planning meeting for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly when the planes hit the North and South Towers. Agents raced down to the streets and assisted other first responders with evacuating civilians, triaging the wounded and fighting fires. Some agents ran into the burning towers, including Tom Armas and John Buckley, who ran 40 flights up into the North Tower.

Back in Washington, the White House Incident Notification System (WHIN) system was alerted. An aircraft near the nation's capital was thought to be headed toward the White House. Special Agent Jimmy Scott of the vice president's detail burst through Cheney's office door and said, "Mr. Vice President, we've got to leave now." Before Cheney could respond, Scott moved behind the vice president's desk, put one hand on his belt and another on his shoulder, and propelled him out of his office toward the "PEOC," the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, located beneath the White House.

Secret Service personnel were also evacuating the White House to ensure that if an aircraft struck it, there would be minimal loss of life.

Aboard Air Force One, Secret Service Assistant Special Agents in Charge Dave Wilkinson and Eddie Marinzel knew there had been an incident but not much else. The communications system on Air Force One was spotty. Air Force One was also not equipped with cable TV and email was unavailable. The agents had to compete with an already clogged cellphone network that day.

The Secret Service agents aboard Air Force One knew that going back to Washington was not an option. President Bush protested, but ultimately, if the Secret Service felt the situation could not be made safe, the president couldn't override them. As Wilkerson put it, "[T]he Secret Service has to protect the president. The wishes of that person that day are secondary to what the law expects of us."

The president was moved to secure military installations including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Once there, Bush made the statement confirming that the United States was at "war" but also, despite Secret Service protestations, he would return to Washington. To do so, the Secret Service not only had ensure the White House was secure but that the route there was also safe.

After returning to the White House, Bush meet with Cheney, Card, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Special Agent in Charge Carl Truscott in the president's Emergency Operations Center -- commonly referred to as "the bunker" -- to discuss America's response and his speech to the nation later that evening.

From the passengers on the highjacked aircraft to first responders and civilians in all three target locations, heroism was on full display during the Sept. 11 attacks. Americans ran toward danger, including the many unsung heroes in the Secret Service who held to their oath that no matter what, America and its symbols would stand.
Donald J. Mihalek is an ABC News contributor, retired senior Secret Service agent and regional field training instructor who served as a police officer and in the US Coast Guard. Opinions expressed in this piece do not reflect those of ABC News.

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'America is under attack': Reliving the Secret Service response on 9/11: OPINION

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On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was faced with a historic decision. Should he inform President George W. Bush, who was speaking that morning at an elementary school in Florida, that a second plane had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center?

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Bush Advisor Recalls Telling Bush About 9/11 Attacks | MSNBC

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8:46 - Flight 11 crashes into the north tower

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8:46 - Flight 11 crashes into the north tower

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8:50-54 - Flight 77 is hijacked and flown into the pentagon

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8:50-54 - Flight 77 is hijacked and flown into the pentagon

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9:03AM - Flight 175 crashes into the south tower

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9:03AM - Flight 175 crashes into the south tower

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"We need to go to terrorists and kill them all, all of them"

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"We need to go to terrorists and kill them all, all of them"

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All of these quotes justify how a big of a surprise this was to the people of New York. And also how heartbroken some of these people were.

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10:28 am – The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

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10:28 am – The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

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HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND LYRICS VERSION 2017

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Brian Clark, 9/11 survivor"I give speeches around the country.  I tell how Stanley and I made our way out of the tower.  Life is precious, I tell them.  It can be gone in an instant."

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Brian Clark, 9/11 survivor"I give speeches around the country.  I tell how Stanley and I made our way out of the tower.  Life is precious, I tell them.  It can be gone in an instant."

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Michael Hingson, 9/11 survivor"I may never know the answers to the questions that plagued me after 9/11.  But I know if we lean on God and each other we will be guided to a better, brighter future."

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Michael Hingson, 9/11 survivor"I may never know the answers to the questions that plagued me after 9/11.  But I know if we lean on God and each other we will be guided to a better, brighter future."

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—Senator John Kerry• “One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice.”—President George W. Bush at the Pentagon in 2008

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—Senator John Kerry• “One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice.”—President George W. Bush at the Pentagon in 2008

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What were the physical/mental side effects on the firefighters, survivors and witnesses? 

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What were the physical/mental side effects on the firefighters, survivors and witnesses? 

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Copy of Global Politics Unit 2: Global Connections