Teaching 9/11

To say that the attacks of September 11^th, 2001 were a turning point in US History would be an understatement. I believe it was less of a turning point and more of a reposition of the economic, cultural, and political values of American society. For decades the American people had lived under the rules of the Cold War, always worried where and when the communist attack would come. That all changed with the nightmarish attacks that bright blue morning in New York, Shanksville, and Washington DC. John Lewis Gaddis chronicles this reposition and how the US government and its people have responded to these attacks and what we might have done differently prior to the attacks of 9/11 in his book Surprise, Security, and the American Experience.Gaddis does a good job of covering the fog of peace and prosperity that was the 1990’s. Further he critically analyzes the dynamic repositioning of the American government after 9/11.

However, as a teacher of US History I tend to ask my students to look the “why and what?” of history. Why did radical fundamentalists under the influence of Osama bin Laden carryout the attacks. In addition, what led up to this attack or was it a singular event? These are the questions I would have teachers ask their students. As students begin to investigate the attacks leading up to 9/11 a pattern emerges. And the pattern that emerges is one of testing and escalation. From the first World Trade Center attack, much maligned by the national media, and thoroughly ignored by the American public. The reason so many Americans ignored the 1993 attack is because many had no prior experience to reference. If this had been another Cuban Missile Crisis or an invasion from a communist state we would probably know how to act and react, but a vehicle blowing up in the parking garage of the World Trade Center was not on any average Americans radar and was therefore overlooked. Following that attack I would take the students through other attacks accredited to al Qaeda. These attacks include the Riyadh bombing of Marine barracks in 1995 and the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole. With each of these attacks the terrorists become more bold in their methodology and more vicious in their result all leading up to the attacks of 9/11.

As you discuss and analyze these attacks you and your students may begin to answer some of the reasons why these young men were so willing to sacrifice their lives. Your students may begin to notice that many of these young men that committed these atrocities are usually young, well educated, and from middle class families. We as a nation have yet to answer all of the questions of why, but as time moves forward and more information becomes available the picture is becoming more clear. The pictures that follow are some of the more intriguing ones that I have taken form a 9/11 website.