The Transformation of the US Through Terror

On 10 September, 2001 the citizens of the United States went about their day-to-day activities without any thoughts of a terrorist attack occurring. Americans who were lulled into this mindset by the false pretenses of security and the history that America has never had a multifaceted terroristic attack occur on her soil. However, on the morning of September 11, 2001 this attitude would be ceaselessly changed and change the life of all Americans. The United States has become known as the melting pot of culture due to the diversity of citizens; consequently, this has also led terroristic events committed by individuals and factions to share their ideologies and attempt to bring about social change. This social change may influence an infinitesimal amount of people or it may have a global impact affecting the world in some way, shape, or form. Domestic and international terrorism are two factors which have shaped and continue to shape life in the United States. Domestic events tend to have a more direct impact on American policy and the livelihood of her citizens; whereas, international terrorism may impact in ways not directly understood by the American people.

The fourth amendment, under the United States Constitution, protects people from searches, seizures, and Terry stops (when a cop and pull someone over for probable cause). It also protects people from giving out personal information. For example, it is illegal for a cop to pull someone over, without probable cause. If the cop asking for information such as: “Where are you going?”, the person has the right to not answer. Still to this day, people in America have the right to exercise their constitutional rights.

On September 11th of 2001 Islamist terrorists hijacked four planes and drove two of the planes into the World Trade Center buildings, also known as the ‘Twin Towers’. Many lives on this day were lost; 9/11 goes down as one of the most tragic days in American history, but also a day that created many safety changes. As the World Trade Center was being terrorized by two planes, Flight 11 and Flight 175; a third plane was flown into the ‘Pentagon’, Flight 77 as another plane, Flight 93, followed crashing into the field of the Pentagon. America decided to take action for society’s safety and create many organizations and laws that would be endeavoring to protect all.

In the United States Constitution, there are ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. These rights are the detailed descriptions of basic rights that each person in this country is entitled to have as a citizen. Of these, the Fourth Amendment requires that proof or probable cause to be presented to a judge in order to gain permission to perform any search and seizures of property. If proper procedure is not followed by officers, evidence can be ruled by a judge as inadmissible in a court of law.

Beginning with the fourth amendment, known as Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure, this is one of the more self-explanatory of the bunch simply because it means exactly what it is named. Protecting the rights of U.S. citizens should always be the number one priority of the government,

On September 11, 2001, the world stood still in sheer disbelief, as the United States fell victim to an appalling terrorist attack. An Islamic extremist group, known as Al-Qaeda, hijacked four commercial airplanes early in the morning of this life-changing day. The group targeted monumental buildings in both New York and Washington, D.C. and executed multiple, suicide attacks, which left behind a massive sea of destruction. Images of flames and plumes of black smoke billowing from the floors and windows of the World Trade Center will forever be ingrained in America’s memory. Directly or indirectly, this heinous act of violence changed the lives of many people. The effects of 9/11 brought significant social, psychological, and economic changes

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees an individual’s protection against unlawful searches and seizures by law enforcement by providing that a search warrant with specific detailing information, based on “good faith” and probable cause, must be provided prior to investigation. By doing so, an individual may be secure that “his home is his castle” and his “person, papers, and effects” (The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 4) is protected as well.

A very shocking terrorist attack in America is 9/11. Americans learned from the past experience, and increased the security at the airports which means more police. Also they made communication monitoring better. The visa control is even more important than before. On September 11, 2001, four commercial airplanes were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists. Two of the airplanes collided with the north and south towers of the World Trade Center Complex in New York. The 110-story towers collapsed into rubble within 1 hour and 42 minutes. In addition, the World Trade Center complex, including the 47-stories and World Trade Center Tower, burned. This resulted in considerable damage to other buildings. The Pentagon was hit. This led to a partial collapse of the western side of the building. The fourth plane, headed the terrorists towards Washington, D.C, but then fell into a field in the Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after the passengers of the plane

The United States was attacked by Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001in three different locations within the country and her people stood by helplessly as the two hijacked commercial airplanes flew into and destroyed the World Trade Center Buildings, the Pentagon was damaged by another hijacked plane, and hijacked flight 93 crashed and killed all aboard in a field South of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The tragic events of that fateful day forever changed the security landscape of federal, state, and local governments. 9/11 is a day that has caused the governmental agencies of all levels to focus on security and the United States stands better prepared with a new focus on identifying vulnerabilities, sharing of information, and education.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is a crucial part of the Right to Privacy. The basis of this amendment is that

On September 11 2001, an attack was made on United States. Four systematic terrorist attacks were pulled off by the group al-Qaeda simultaneously bringing down the World Trade Centre in New York and damaging the Pentagon in Washington D.C. As extensive and in depth as the cause for the attack may have been, September 11 is an event that has undoubtedly left its mark in American history. A turning point, as some would call it, of the political, social, and economic systems of the United States. Quickly following the terrorist attack on 9/11, President George W. Bush called for a “war against terrorism.” Instead, what truly occurred was an act of counter terrorism. After 9/11, the political system of America took a turn for the worst; democracy declined and the rights of many American citizens were taken away. Additionally, the economy took a large blow at the crash of the World Trade Centre and subsided even further due to the nation’s equally aggressive response of “war against terrorism.” As costly as the administrated counter attacks administrated were for the economy, it was just as critical for the social systems of the United States. There is no question as to how traumatizing the event of September 11 was to America. However, it is not solely this one-day event that changed the country. The American government made critical errors in their response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks which led to significant political, social, and economic damage to the United States.

Since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, the landscape has drastically changed as to how we view terrorists and their violent acts of devastation. While crisis management and diaster preparedness measures are in place, terrorists will still find a way to invoke terror (Maras, 2013). The world desires freedom and security above all else, after 9/11, security obviously is more pressing. Our routines have changed, we have given up a measure of our freedom to feel more secure. Security checkpoints at all airports are extensive in their screenings and tourists can no longer drive down Pennsylvania Avenue in front of The White House. Since the terrorist attack, the Patriot Act was signed into law, greatly

The day was September 11, 2001. Across America, people were preparing for their day, unaware of the developing chaos. Despite the increasing rate of world-wide terror attacks, Americans felt unassailable as they carried out their lives fueled by oil from the Middle East. At precisely 8:46:30 a.m. Eastern Time, America’s sense of invulnerability was shattered when the first plane, American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Shortly after, United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into the Trade Center’s south tower and American Airlines Flight 77 smashed into the west side of the Pentagon, bringing forth President George W. Bush’s War on Terrorism (“9/11: Timeline of Events” 2). Through his declaration, Bush waged war against Afghanistan and Iraq, asserting that these nations threatened American security. Despite the president’s intent to protect America, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan proved ineffective towards ending the War on Terrorism and, ultimately, pulled America into greater external and internal conflicts.