This collection of primary sources was developed to help teachers engage students in a variety of key topics related to 9/11 and the War on Terror. The topics were developed as a result of our research into how 9/11 and terrorism are being taught in the US and what teachers needed to include perspectives often missing from textbooks and other curriculum sets. Therefore, we compiled primary source sets centered around key themes that emerged from our research and aligned with inquiry questions developed as part of our Teaching with Primary Sources project.
American Intelligence Failure
Context: In the years prior to 9/11 al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Centers in 1993, bombed embassies in Kenya and Nairobi in 1997, and attacked the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were determined to strike the United States because of Bin Laden’s anger about the United States…
Perspectives of Muslim and Arab Americans
Context: In the aftermath of 9/11, Muslims throughout the United States and the world all reacted with horror to the attacks. Unlike racist assumptions from Americans who thought all Muslims and people from the Muslim world applauded the attack, the reality is that Muslims experienced 9/11 as both an attack against their home country and…
Rise of the TSA
Context: Prior to 9/11, individual airports and airlines were responsible for hiring their own security firms to provide screening for passengers on flights. Security screening and airport security were considerably lax compared to today. After 9/11, the US government decided to create the TSA as a national agency in charge of handling airport security and…
September 11, 2001 – The Day of the Attacks
Context: In addition to focusing mostly on the attack by commemorating and memorializing those who perished and risked their lives to save others, it’s important to also include the broader history, context, and perspectives from the day. This includes how different people varying by age, race, religion, and national origin, all made sense of the…
Soviet & Afghan War
Soviet & Afghan War Context: The Soviet Afghanistan war is an integral part of the history of 9/11. The CIA decided to arm the Afghan resistance fighters (mujahedeen) to repel the Soviet invasion as part of the larger cold war strategy. After the Afghan victory, the US stopped financially supporting the Afghans. This lack of…
The Patriot Act
Context: In the aftermath of 9/11, the US government created and passed the Patriot Act; legislation designed, in part, to prevent further terrorist attacks by gathering information on communications within and outside of the US with questionable legality on US citizens. In its origins, the Patriot Act was widely supported as a means of combatting…
Veteran’s Experiences
Context: After 9/11, there was an increased surge in patriotic sentiment and nationalism, which was one of many contributing factors that increased military enlistments. As President Bush decided to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, soldiers soon found themselves in combat situations, with groups of diverse people, in a new urban and rural environment, and…
Funding for this project was provided by The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region Grant Program.