The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a date now simply known as 9/11, remain etched in the memory of Americans and people worldwide. Nearly 3,000 lives were tragically lost in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on that Tuesday morning in 2001. The events of 9/11 not only inflicted immediate devastation but also set in motion a series of profound shifts in American society, politics, and foreign policy, the repercussions of which are still felt today. Just under two decades later, the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a military mission initiated in the aftermath of 9/11, serves as a stark reminder of the complex and long-lasting impact of that single day.
For those old enough to recall, the year 2001 and the date September 11th are indelibly linked to personal memories of where they were and what they were doing when news of the attacks broke. However, a significant and growing portion of the American population has no direct memory of 9/11, either because they were too young or born after the year it happened. This generational divide highlights the importance of understanding the historical significance of 9/11 and its continued relevance in shaping contemporary America.
Looking back at two decades of public opinion data since the year of 9/11, we can observe how a nation deeply traumatized by the attacks initially united in grief and patriotism. Public support for military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq surged, although this support gradually eroded over time. Americans grappled with the evolving threat of terrorism on domestic soil and debated the government’s measures to combat it.
The recent withdrawal from Afghanistan, while endorsed by a majority of Americans, has also triggered critical questions about the long-term direction of U.S. foreign policy and America’s role in the global landscape. Despite the immense human and financial cost of the war in Afghanistan, a significant majority of Americans now believe that the United States largely failed to achieve its objectives there. This sentiment underscores the need to reflect on the lessons learned since the year 9/11 occurred and to reassess the strategies employed in the name of national security.
This article delves into the multifaceted legacy of 9/11, exploring its devastating emotional impact, its transformative effect on public opinion, and its lasting influence on American society and policy. By examining public opinion trends over the past two decades, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the events of 2001 continue to shape the American experience.
The Immediate Aftermath: A Nation in Shock and Mourning
The immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks was characterized by widespread shock, sadness, fear, and anger across the United States. The sheer scale of the devastation and the horrific nature of the attacks inflicted a deep emotional wound on the American psyche. Despite the overwhelming tragedy unfolding on television screens, a majority of Americans reported being unable to stop watching news coverage of the unfolding events.
In the days immediately following September 11th, the year of the attacks, a Pew Research Center survey captured the profound emotional distress experienced by Americans. A significant 71% of adults reported feeling depressed, almost half (49%) struggled with concentration, and a third experienced sleep disturbances. Television, still the dominant news medium for most Americans at the time, amplified the impact of the attacks with its graphic imagery of destruction and loss. An overwhelming 92% of Americans expressed sadness while watching television coverage, and a substantial 77% found it frightening, yet they continued to watch.
Beyond sadness and fear, anger was a dominant emotion. Even as the initial shock began to subside in the weeks after the year of 9/11, a staggering 87% of Americans reported feeling angry about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This anger fueled a desire for retribution and justice, contributing to the widespread public support for military action against those responsible.
Fear of further attacks was pervasive throughout the fall of 2001, the year of 9/11. A majority of Americans expressed worry about the possibility of another terrorist attack. Looking back a year later, about half of American adults reported feeling more afraid, more cautious, more distrustful, or more vulnerable as a direct consequence of the attacks.
The impact of 9/11 was not uniform across the country. Concerns about terrorism were more pronounced in major cities, particularly New York and Washington, D.C., which were directly targeted in the attacks of 2001. Nearly a year after 9/11, residents of New York (61%) and Washington (63%) were more likely than Americans nationwide (49%) to report that the attacks had changed their lives at least somewhat. The personal impact was also felt more acutely in large cities in general, with a quarter of big city residents reporting a major life change, double the rate in small towns and rural areas.
The emotional and psychological repercussions of 9/11 were long-lasting. Even a year after the attacks in 2001, half of U.S. adults believed that the country had undergone a major transformation, a sentiment that actually increased to 61% a decade later, highlighting the enduring legacy of that pivotal year. When asked about the most significant event of the previous year, an overwhelming 80% of Americans cited 9/11, and remarkably, 38% identified it as the most important personal event, surpassing typical life events like births or deaths. This personal impact was even more pronounced in New York and Washington, D.C., underscoring the deeply personal and national trauma inflicted by the events of 2001.
9/11’s Transformative but Often Short-Lived Impact on Public Opinion
The year 2001 and the 9/11 attacks stand as a watershed moment that profoundly reshaped U.S. public opinion across a wide spectrum of issues. Beyond the shared grief and trauma, the months following 9/11 were marked by an unusual surge in national unity and patriotic sentiment.
Patriotic displays became widespread in the wake of 9/11. Following the launch of U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan in October 2001, the year of the attacks, 79% of adults reported displaying an American flag. A year later, a majority (62%) indicated feeling patriotic as a direct result of the 9/11 attacks.
Political divisions seemed to temporarily recede as Americans rallied around national institutions and political leadership. In October 2001, the same year as 9/11, trust in the federal government soared to 60%, a level unprecedented in the preceding three decades and unmatched in the two decades since.
President George W. Bush, who had assumed office just months before September 11th of 2001, experienced a remarkable 35-percentage-point surge in job approval ratings within three weeks of the attacks. By late September 2001, 86% of adults, including overwhelming majorities of both Republicans and Democrats, approved of Bush’s handling of the presidency.
Religious faith also saw a resurgence in the year of 9/11 and its immediate aftermath. Most Americans reported praying more frequently, and in November 2001, 78% believed that religion’s influence in American life was growing, more than double the percentage from earlier in the year 2001 and reaching a four-decade high. Even institutions often viewed with skepticism, such as news organizations, enjoyed a boost in public esteem, receiving record-high ratings for professionalism and perceived roles in upholding American values and democracy.
However, many of these shifts in public opinion proved to be transient. The “9/11 effect” waned as the years passed. Public trust in government and confidence in other institutions declined steadily throughout the 2000s. By 2005, in the wake of the government’s criticized response to Hurricane Katrina, trust in the federal government had plummeted to 31%, half the level observed shortly after the year of the 9/11 attacks. This low level of trust has persisted for the subsequent two decades. Similarly, President Bush’s approval ratings never again reached their post-9/11 peak, falling to just 24% by the end of his presidency in 2008.
Military Responses: Afghanistan and Iraq
The U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001 began with the invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the war in Iraq. Now, with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan complete and the Taliban back in power, a majority of Americans (69%) believe that the U.S. failed to achieve its goals in Afghanistan.
However, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in 2001, public support for military action was overwhelming. In mid-September 2001, 77% favored military action, including ground troops, to retaliate against those responsible, even if it meant thousands of U.S. casualties. Many Americans urged swift action, with nearly half expressing concern that the Bush administration would not act quickly enough.
Despite the desire for a swift response, most Americans recognized that dismantling terrorist networks would be a protracted undertaking. A majority (69%) anticipated that it would take months or years, with 38% predicting years. Public support for military intervention was further evident in the preference for military action abroad over strengthening defenses at home as the primary means of preventing future terrorism.
Initially, Americans were confident in the success of military efforts against terrorist networks, with 76% expressing confidence. Support for the war in Afghanistan remained high for several years. In early 2002, 83% approved of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, and in 2006, 69% still considered the decision to use military force in Afghanistan to be correct.
However, as the conflict dragged on through the Bush and Obama administrations, public support waned. By June 2009, 38% favored withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible. A turning point came in May 2011 with the killing of Osama bin Laden. While the public reaction was more relief than jubilation, a month later, for the first time, a majority (56%) supported immediate troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Over the following decade, troop drawdowns occurred under Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden. Public support for the initial decision to use force in Afghanistan declined, and after the chaotic withdrawal in 2021, a slim majority (54%) deemed the withdrawal the right decision.
A similar pattern of initial support followed by declining approval unfolded with the U.S. war in Iraq, another major component of the “war on terror” launched after the 9/11 attacks of 2001. Leading up to the invasion of Iraq, Americans largely supported military action to remove Saddam Hussein, with a majority incorrectly believing a direct link existed between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. In April 2003, early in the Iraq War, 71% considered the war a right decision. However, by the 15th anniversary in 2018, only 43% held this view. As with Afghanistan, more Americans believed the U.S. had failed (53%) than succeeded (39%) in achieving its goals in Iraq.
The Enduring Threat of Terrorism: A “New Normal”
While no terrorist attacks on the scale of 9/11 have occurred in the two decades since 2001, the threat of terrorism has remained a persistent concern for Americans. Defending against terrorism has consistently ranked as a top policy priority in Pew Research Center surveys since 2002.
In January 2002, shortly after the 2001 attacks, 83% of Americans identified defending against terrorism as a top priority for the president and Congress, the highest among all issues. Sizable majorities have continued to prioritize terrorism as a policy concern in the years since. While both Republicans and Democrats have consistently ranked terrorism as a top priority, Republicans have generally been more likely to do so.
Public concern about another terrorist attack remained relatively stable in the years following 9/11, despite various terror alerts and near-misses. A 2010 analysis indicated that the percentage of Americans “very concerned” about another attack fluctuated between 15% and 25% since 2002, with a brief surge in early 2003 before the Iraq War.
In recent years, however, terrorism has receded somewhat as a top national concern, with issues like the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic, and racism rising in prominence in the public’s perception.
In 2016, 53% considered terrorism a very big national problem, but this declined to around 40% between 2017 and 2019. Last year, only a quarter of Americans viewed terrorism as a very big problem. Prior to the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, domestic terrorism was considered a bigger problem than international terrorism by Americans. However, events in Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover may potentially shift public opinion on the threat of terrorism once again. In a late August 2021 survey, a significant 89% of Americans viewed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as a threat to U.S. security.
Balancing Security and Civil Liberties in the Post-9/11 Era
In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks of 2001, Americans showed a willingness to accept far-reaching measures to combat terrorism, both domestically and internationally. Majorities initially supported measures such as national ID cards, CIA contracts with criminals, and overseas assassinations of suspected terrorists.
However, public support had limits. A significant majority opposed government monitoring of personal emails and phone calls. While a minority supported internment camps for legal immigrants from unfriendly nations, a larger majority opposed such measures.
The attacks clearly shifted public opinion on the balance between civil liberties and national security. In September 2001 and January 2002, majorities agreed that it was necessary for average citizens to sacrifice some civil liberties to curb terrorism. This represented a significant shift from 1997, when only 29% held this view.
For much of the two decades following the year of 9/11, more Americans expressed concern that the government had not gone far enough in protecting the country from terrorism than that it had gone too far in restricting civil liberties. Furthermore, a notable percentage of Americans supported the use of torture against terrorist suspects to obtain information, placing the U.S. among a minority of nations where this view was prevalent.
Shifting Views of Muslims and Islam
In the days following 9/11, amid concerns about potential backlash against Muslim Americans, President George W. Bush emphasized that “Islam is peace.” Initially, a significant portion of Americans seemed to agree. In November 2001, 59% held a favorable view of Muslim Americans, up from 45% in March 2001.
However, this initial unity proved short-lived. Suspicion towards people of Middle Eastern descent increased, rising from 28% in September 2001 to 36% within a year. Partisan divisions emerged, particularly within the Republican party, in associating Muslims and Islam with violence.
In 2002, only a quarter of Americans believed Islam was more prone to encourage violence than other religions. However, within a few years, a majority of Republicans came to hold this view. Currently, a substantial 72% of Republicans believe Islam is more likely to encourage violence, compared to 32% of Democrats. This partisan gap extends to other perceptions of Muslims and Islam, with significant differences between Republicans and Democrats on whether Islam is part of mainstream American society and the extent of extremism within the U.S. Muslim community. The rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the aftermath of 9/11, in the year 2001 and beyond, has had a tangible impact on the lives of Muslim Americans, with increasing reports of discrimination and expressions of public support within the community.
Two Decades Later: An Uncertain New Chapter
Two decades have passed since the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. For those who remember, it remains an unforgettable day. 9/11 profoundly reshaped American perspectives on war, peace, personal safety, and national identity. As the nation confronts the tumultuous events in Afghanistan, it enters a new and uncertain chapter in the post-9/11 era, grappling with the complex and enduring legacy of that pivotal year.
