One hour and 16 minutes changed America forever. That is the interval between the moment American Airlines Flight 11 slammed into 1 World Trade Center (the North Tower) and the moment United Airlines Flight 93, the last of the four airliners hijacked on September 11, 2001, crashed in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In less than an hour and a half, 2,977 lives were destroyed, and with them the sense of freedom and security Americans had long taken for granted. The events of 9/11 were a horrific demonstration that freedom was costly and security fleeting. Things would be different over the next quarter century.
After 9/11, Americans Are More Savvy About Terrorism
There is little doubt that in the aftermath of 9/11 the United States emerged, if not stronger, then certainly less naïve about its vulnerability in an extremely hostile world. The piper had to be paid, however, and the currency was personal and institutional freedom. Nearly two months later, President George W. Bush signed into law the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the Transportation Security Administration and mandated that airline passengers “be screened by federal authorities,” that all checked bags be screened, and that the Federal Air Marshal Service be expanded, as USA Today explained. Over the intervening 25 years, airport security has increased significantly. TSA has deployed explosive-detection equipment for screening luggage and required that cockpit doors be reinforced against small-arms fire, fragmentation grenades, and unauthorized entry. In 2017, new rules required passengers not in PreCheck lanes to remove electronic devices and place them in bins at security checkpoints.
Free with the Daily Briefing
85EssaysUnravel the Constitution
Hamilton, Madison & Jay’s complete case for America, free and searchable in the Publius Reader.
Free with the Daily Briefing. Unsubscribe anytime.
In the introduction to the 2002 National Security Strategy, President Bush described the threat America faced: “Enemies in the past needed great armies and great industrial capabilities to endanger America. Now, shadowy networks of individuals can bring great chaos and suffering to our shores for less than it costs to purchase a single tank. Terrorists are organized to penetrate open societies and to turn the power of modern technologies against us.”
Most recently, in May 2025, TSA began fully enforcing REAL ID regulations, requiring more secure, standardized state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards. A valid passport remains an acceptable alternative. Personal privacy was the cost. With each new security procedure, the burden of compliance has fallen on passengers, who must accept more intrusive measures and a curtailment of the freedom to move freely through airports.
Americans born in the post-9/11 world have no idea what it was like to accompany friends and family all the way to the boarding gate or to meet them as they stepped off the airplane. There were no long security lines. Passengers moved quickly through metal detectors and hustled to their assigned gates. There was even a time, earlier still, when there were no metal detectors at all. Travelers could plan to arrive 45 minutes before departure and reasonably expect to make the flight. Nowadays, it is iffy, even if you arrive two hours early. As The Washington Times observed of those born after 9/11: “They learned about it in school the way they learned about Pearl Harbor or the Civil War, but they do not quite grasp how a single morning could divide life into before and after.”
The most ambitious change to America’s governing culture took place inside the federal government. TSA was one of 22 agencies consolidated into the Department of Homeland Security. The new department “represented the largest federal government reorganization since the Department of Defense itself was established in 1947,” Military.com explained. Separately, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to coordinate the 17 agencies of the intelligence community. The thinking was that a more integrated structure would allow greater information sharing.
Patriot Act Expanded US Laws
Perhaps the most far-reaching legislative consequence of the 9/11 attacks was the USA PATRIOT Act – short for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.” The roughly 300-page statute was enacted just 45 days after the attacks. As The New York Times later observed, the legislation “sailed through Congress seven weeks after the attacks with scant dissent.” According to the Associated Press, the Patriot Act expanded presidential and law-enforcement authority for surveillance and intelligence gathering. “To confront potential terrorists and spies, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have retained key tools, which became broadly known after the attacks and include national security letters that permit the FBI to order companies to turn over information about customers,” the AP reported. Warrantless wiretaps were among the tools used against suspected foreign terrorists, but they also carried the potential to reach ordinary Americans.
The catastrophic act of terrorism that took place on September 11, 2001, will live in the memories of those who witnessed it and in the history books for those who did not. The challenge remains: How much freedom is American culture willing to surrender for personal and institutional security?
~
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
.png&w=1920&q=75)
