9/11 Then and Now: 20 Ways America Has Changed
Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, the United States experienced one of the deadliest single days in its history.
Two planes, carrying 92 people and 65 people, respectively, crashed into each of the World Trade Center towers. Minutes later, another flight, carrying 64, crashed into the side of the Pentagon. A final plane crashed minutes after that one, in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers successfully steered it away from its White House target, killing 44 more.
All told, 2,977 Americans lost their lives that day, thanks to the extremist beliefs of Osama bin Laden and his jihadist following.
See 20 Ways America Has Changed Since 9/11
For those of us who lived through 9/11, the day’s events will forever be emblazoned on our consciousnesses, a terrible tragedy we can’t, and won’t, forget. Now, two decades on, Stacker reflects back on the events of 9/11 and many of the ways the world has changed since then. Using information from news reports, government sources, and research centers, this is a list of 20 aspects of American life that were forever altered by the events of that day. From language to air travel to our handling of immigration and foreign policy, read on to see just how much life in the United States was affected by 9/11.