Notes

On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by 19 terrorists that were members of the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden. They hijacked four passenger planes and used them as weapons to crash into the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Another plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers attempted to retake control of the plane. When the first plane hit the North Tower, many people thought it was some sort of horrible accident. When the second plane hit the south tower, we knew we were under attack. The airplane fuel onboard the passenger planes caused an intense fire and extreme heat in the Twin Towers. Eventually, the structural integrity of both buildings gave way and the towers collapsed. The South Tower collapsed first followed by the North Tower around 30 minutes later. Several other buildings and skyscrapers around the Twin Towers collapsed as well. 2,996 people were killed by the terrorist attack. Firefighters and police of New York City were working extremely hard to save thousands of people before the buildings collapsed. Many of them gave their lives including 343 firefighters, 72 police, and 55 military staff. The passengers aboard Flight 93 also fought back to gain control of the plane. They knew they were probably going to die, but they didn't let the plane crash into a building where more would die. We will never know just how many lives their bravery saved. The effects of the attacks were felt for many years. The U.S. economy struggled as the stock market crashed. Things were even worse in New York City which had to deal with the dust, debris, and destruction of so many buildings. Many had to deal with the death of friends and loved ones and the loss of jobs and businesses. The United States government, led by President George W. Bush, retaliated with a "War on Terror." The U.S. attacked the Taliban in Afghanistan and searched out leaders and members of al-Qaeda. Osama bin Laden was able to hide out in mountain caves for plenty of years before he was eventually hunted down and killed in 2011.