The Impact of 9-11 On September 11, 2001 America woke up expecting a normal day. What America did not expect was that this day was going to change history forever. On that day Islamic extremist high-jacked four U.S. airplanes with the intent of crashing them into the twin towers, the Pentagon and the White House. Two of the planes did indeed crash into the twin towers in New York City and another was used to hit the pentagon. The passengers on the last plane however, fought back, and it was landed before it could be used to hit the white house. “A decade later, what happened on Sept. 11 still resonates for much of the country. Even more Americans now say the horror of that day changed their lives.”1 These were the first attacks ever directed toward U.S. civilian population. These organized attacks lead to the need for an immediate change in the way the United States approached defending itself.
One of the major changes that were caused by the attack of 9/11 was the introduction to the Patriot Act. “The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. The title of the act is a ten-letter acronym (USA PATRIOT) that stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001The Patriot Act gives the U.S. power to deter and punish terrorist acts in the U.S. and around the world.”2 This law was passed just forty-six days after the attacks on the twin towers and the pentagon occurred. The patriot act dramatically reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search telephone, e-mails, medical, financial, and other records; eased restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States. Basically there was nothing off limits to government agencies such as the F.B.I., they were able to obtain any documents they felt necessary to fight terrorism. “It also expanded the Secretary of the