United States History · Chapter 32
32. The Challenges of the Twenty-First Century
The chapter discusses the challenges faced by the United States in the 21st century, focusing on the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the War on Terror, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. It highlights the shift in U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, the implications of the War on Terror for domestic security, and the impact of economic policies, including tax cuts and the response to Hurricane Katrina. The chapter also addresses social issues such as immigration, same-sex marriage, and climate change, culminating in the election of Barack Obama and the ongoing challenges of his administration.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Discuss how the United States responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
- Explain why the United States went to war against Afghanistan and Iraq
- Describe the treatment of suspected terrorists by U.S. law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military
- Discuss the Bush administration’s economic theories and tax policies, and their effects on the American economy
- Explain how the federal government attempted to improve the American public education system
- Describe the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina
- Identify the causes of the Great Recession of 2008 and its effect on the average citizen
- Describe the efforts to reduce the influence of immigrants on American culture
- Describe the evolution of twenty-first-century American attitudes towards same-sex marriage
- Explain the clash over climate change
- Describe how Barack Obama’s domestic policies differed from those of George W. Bush
- Discuss the important events of the war on terror during Obama’s two administrations
- Discuss some of the specific challenges facing the United States as Obama’s second term draws to a close
Introduction#
Figure 32.1 In 2001, almost three thousand people died as a result of the September 11 attacks, when members of the terrorist group al-Qaedaa militant Islamist group originally founded by Osama bin Ladenboomerang generationyoung people who must return to their parents’ home in order to make ends meetBush Doctrinethe belief that the United States has the right to protect itself from terrorist acts by engaging in pre-emptive wars or oust… hijacked four planes as part of a coordinated attack on sites in New York City and Washington, DC.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, hopes that the new century would leave behind the conflicts of the previous one were dashed when two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center. When the first plane struck the north tower, many assumed that the crash was a horrific accident. But then a second plane hit the south tower less than thirty minutes later. People on the street watched in horror, as some of those trapped in the burning buildings jumped to their deaths and the enormous towers collapsed into dust. In the photo above, the Statue of Liberty appears to look on helplessly, as thick plumes of smoke obscure the Lower Manhattan skyline (Figure 32.1). The events set in motion by the September 11 attacks would raise fundamental questions about the United States’ role in the world, the extent to which privacy should be protected at the cost of security, the definition of exactly who is an American, and the cost of liberty.