Why go
New York’s September 11 history belongs within a wider period of technological and political change. The spread of the Internet altered communication, while the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon redirected national priorities. Following that chronology connects the memorial landscape of New York with the country’s changing international role.
The full story
The end of the Cold War opened a period of economic growth during the 1990s. Networks with roots in American defense and academic research developed into the public Internet, changing communication and commerce. North American trade also became more closely connected through the agreement that took effect in 1994. On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. The attacks killed nearly three thousand people and led to a major shift in American foreign policy. The United States launched military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The decade also brought the Great Recession, beginning in 2007. Barack Obama was elected in 2008 as the country's first African American president. These events form historical context for understanding recent public memory, rather than a description of today's political or economic conditions.