The events that happened on September 11th, 2001, left a lasting mark on the history of America. This day sparked international conflict, cost American lives, and, through the rubble of this disaster, united the people of the United States in a way they had never before been.
In the early morning hours of September 11th, American Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked by members of the Taliban, and flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. Just a few minutes later, American Airlines Flight 175 was also hijacked, and similarly flown into the side of the South Tower. Within the next two hours, both towers would collapse, and send a plume of smoke and debris into the New York City skyline. The whole country froze as news came out, and news stations were broadcasting the events. Countless firefighters, law enforcement officers, and first responders walked through the burning buildings before they collapsed, trying to save as many lives as possible. Many of them lost their lives trying to save others. The casualties of the attack include 2,977 deaths, thousands of injuries, and over $10 Billion in damages. To this day it remains the deadliest terror attack in history.
Following the attacks, the US launched a war on terror to hold the Taliban accountable for their attack on American lives. The US Military would not rest until Osama bin Laden, leader of the Taliban, and the rest of the group were killed. But the military was not the only group uniting in the wake of these attacks, so was the American population.
American citizens came together to mourn the attacks and unite in a way that we rarely see such a divided country do. The patriotism and genuine care of every American is something that many of those who were alive during the attacks mention when discussing the aftermath. From the Addison Press in Illinois, government officials working in downtown Chicago were evaluating whether they could be targeted and needed to evacuate. I find it fascinating that we have the reactions of people who were so far from where the attacks were, yet were just as worried as the people who were close by. This demonstrates the communal fear and grief that was experienced all through the country.
The 1994 Major League Baseball (MLB) season was canceled on September 14 due to a players’ strike. This came as a surprise to many as it seemed the season had abruptly ended, and it marked the first time in history that the World Series was not held since its creation. The strike began in August and stemmed from disputes over salary caps, revenue sharing, and free agency between team owners and players. The MLB tried to negotiate with the striking players but was unsuccessful. On September 14th, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced the cancellation of the remainder of the season, including the playoffs. This choice left many fans feeling disappointed and frustrated with the MLB organization. As a result, the MLB had to work to regain the trust of fans in the following seasons and slowly rebuilt their organization to what it is today. Not only did they lose out on viewers, but they also lost money by canceling the rest of the season. The Cedar Rapids Gazette detailed this part of the story in a piece with the headline “Canceled World Series Means Canceled Sales”, and discussed how a lot of merchandise for the game was already made and now was wasted money.
The Attica Prison Revolt was a prison uprising that took place in September 1971 at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. Inmates, protesting against inhumane living conditions, overcrowding, and systemic abuse, seized control of the prison, taking hostages and demanding reforms. The inmates had grown tired of inhumane living conditions including overcrowding in the prison, as well as accused they were being subjected to systemic abuse. This led them to take control of the prison, and even take hostages, to force their demands for reform to be heard. The uprising stood for four days as negotiations took place until finally, authorities stormed the prison on September 13th to put an end to it all. This quickly turned violent and resulted in 43 deaths, including both inmates and the hostages they held. While this uprising was deadly, it brought national attention to the issues of prison reform and the treatment of incarcerated individuals in the U.S.
In the Perry Herald, an editorial was published on September 23, 1971, titled “Telling the Whole Story”. The piece recounted the events that went down at the Attica Prison and made various arguments about why it happened and how people should react. In brief, they argued that this shouldn’t be a call for prison reform, because the inmates dehumanized themselves by committing the crimes. The author said that “neither the public, the police nor the guards want a single person in prison who does not need to be there”, which I found an interesting perspective that I hadn’t seen in other coverage.
My search tip of the week is to think of other names for events to help broaden your results. When looking for this event in the archives, I started by searching for “Attica prison revolt”, which only turned up a handful of relevant results. I then removed the word “revolt”, because sometimes the revolt is referred to as an uprising or tragedy, and searched for just “Attica prison”. This gave me a couple hundred relevant results! By widening my search to include different names, I was able to find it more easily.
The Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed on September 10, 1919, and it marked the formal end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I. This treaty sought to establish the Republic of Austria as a separate entity and significantly reduced the nation’s territory. Austria lost land to Italy, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Yugoslavia. In addition, Austria was forbidden from being allies with Germany, military restrictions were imposed, and financial reparations were required on Austria. In the Cedar Rapids Gazette, they shared that the treaty with Austria followed the same lines that the treaty with Germany did. This was one part of the Allied power’s plan to redraw the map of Europe and establish peace. These actions however did end up having implications long term within the region, causing tension between the nations.
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States. He served from March 4th, 1897, until his death on September 14th, 1901. In his first term, he chose Garret Hobart as his VP, but in his second term, he decided Theodore Roosevelt would be his new Vice President. During his presidency, he led the United States to victory in the Spanish-American War and for implementing tariffs to boost the industry growth. President McKinley was visiting Buffalo, New York to attend Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition. While there, he gave a speech and toured the fair, then went to the temple of music to hold a public reception. On September 6th, 1901, his assassin Leon Czolgosz was in line to meet the president. When it was his turn, he concealed his gun in his right hand by wrapping it in a handkerchief and shook the president with his left hand while he used his right to shoot him twice in the abdomen. Mckinley was taken to a hospital where he remained until his death on September 14th, 1901 from complications following his shooting. On that day, the Morning Sun in Norwich, New York published about his death on the front page, including the line “A Nation In Mourning”. In the piece, they detailed his recovery that had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, and also shared that his final words were “God’s will, not ours, be done”.
Explore the “Read All About It” archives to read stories that spotlight our partners and their communities, announcements from our team, updates on current projects, and so much more. Discover articles about engagement, outreach, primary sources, community, digitization, education, and other topics of interest. Delve into the happenings in this week in history and take a deep dive into the events and people who helped shape our communities, our nation, and the world.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
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