Explain the September 11, 2001, attacks, the war on terror, and the major developments and challenges of the United States in the early twenty-first century (Tennessee Academic Standards for Social Studies, United States History and Geography, US.51 and US.60).

What this topic is asking

Standards US.51 and US.60 ask how the September 11, 2001 attacks and the war on terror shaped the United States, and about the major developments and challenges of the early twenty-first century. For the EOC that means understanding 9/11 and its consequences, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the renewed security-versus-liberty debate, the Great Recession, and landmark events like the election of the first Black president.

The September 11 attacks

The war on terror

In response, President George W. Bush declared a war on terror:

• The United States invaded Afghanistan (2001) to destroy al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime that had sheltered it.
• New homeland-security measures were created, including the Department of Homeland Security and the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded government powers of surveillance and law enforcement.
• In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein, beginning a long, costly, and controversial war.

The war on terror committed the United States to extended military involvement and shaped foreign policy for years.

Security versus civil liberties, again

The Great Recession

In 2008, the United States and the world suffered the Great Recession, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It began with a collapse in the housing market and a financial crisis, leading to bank failures, a stock-market plunge, lost jobs, and home foreclosures. The government responded with bailouts and a stimulus to stabilize the economy, recalling debates about the federal role going back to the New Deal.

Other major developments

The early twenty-first century saw other landmark changes:

• The election of Barack Obama in 2008 as the first African American president, a milestone in the long story of civil rights.
• Continued technological change (smartphones, social media) and the effects of globalization.
• Ongoing debates over immigration, health care (such as the Affordable Care Act), the economy, and America's role in the world.

Why this matters for the EOC

As the most recent content, this topic supplies cause-and-effect items (9/11 to the war on terror), continuity items (the recurring security-versus-liberty debate), and items on major developments (the Great Recession, the first Black president). Because it is contemporary, the EOC focuses on the big developments and themes rather than fine detail, and it ties the modern era back to the whole course.

Try this

Q1. Explain what happened on September 11, 2001, and the main U.S. response. [2]

• Cue. Al-Qaeda hijacked planes and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing about 3,000; the United States launched the war on terror, invading Afghanistan and creating homeland-security measures.

Q2. Name one other major development in early-twenty-first-century America. [1]

• Cue. Any one of: the Iraq War (2003), the Great Recession (2008), or the election of Barack Obama as the first Black president (2008).