On the anniversary of September 11, 2001, we are presenting George W. Bush’s address to the nation alongside accompanying commentary. As you read the speech, we encourage you to reflect on how September 11 continues to resonate today.
This document can be found in our landmark reference set, Milestone Documents in American History: Exploring the Primary Sources that Shaped America, 2nd edition. This set covers major themes in American history and is designed to help students engage with and analyze primary sources through a consistent, structured approach. It is also part of the Schlager Digital Library, a collection of over 2,500 primary sources specially selected to support courses of study across U.S and world history, ethnic and gender studies, American government, and religious studies.
George W. Bush: Address to the Nation on September 11, 2001
Overview
At 8:30 in the evening on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush addressed
the nation on television and radio. His five-minute address was delivered in response to terrorist attacks on the nation that had taken place some twelve hours earlier. The attacks would become a defining moment in the Bush presidency and for the nation, leading ultimately to changes in American foreign policy, military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and years of controversy about appropriate and legal ways to combat terrorism at home and abroad. In his address, the president attempted to rally the nation to fight terrorism, to reassure people that the U.S. government was still functioning, to enlist the support of other nations in opposing terrorism, and to vow to bring to justice those responsible for the attacks.
Context
At approximately 8:30 in the morning on September 11, 2001, what had begun as a normal day on the sunny East Coast quickly turned into a day of confusion and tragedy. Working in teams, nineteen men hijacked four commercial airliners departing from Logan Airport in Boston; Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.; and Newark International Airport in New Jersey. All of the planes were bound for California.
At 8:46 a.m. hijackers deliberately flew one of the planes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, though many observers who witnessed the event believed that the crash was a horrible accident. Then, at about 9:03, a second plane crashed into the Trade Center’s South Tower—an event that was captured on film by journalists and citizens whose cameras were trained on the North Tower after the first crash. As smoke rose from the burning buildings in Lower Manhattan, at 9:37 a third plane crashed into the west side of the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. A fourth airliner turned around over Ohio, and although its target remains unknown, authorities are reasonably certain that the hijackers intended to crash it into the White House, the Capitol, or a similar target in the nation’s capital. However, passengers and crew, who had learned about the earlier crashes through cell-phone conversations and knew that those hijackings had been suicide missions, attempted to regain control of the aircraft. In the struggle with the hijackers that ensued, the plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all aboard.
These attacks were not the first on the World Trade Center. On February 26, 1993, a car bomb had exploded in the parking garage under the Trade Center’s North Tower, killing six and injuring more than one thousand people. The attack was the work of Islamic terrorists, who apparently believed that the building would collapse if its structure was weakened by the blast, but the building survived the damage done to it. In the hours after the 2001 attacks, suspicion immediately fell on Islamic extremists, particularly on the terrorist organization known as al Qaeda. These suspicions were ultimately confirmed.
Terrorism, particularly terrorism emanating from Middle Eastern nations, had become a widespread and seemingly intractable problem during the 1980s and 1990s—and indeed the history of Arab terrorism directed against the United States dates all the way back to the nineteenth century, when President Thomas Jefferson had to deal with the terrorist actions of the Barbary Coast pirates in the Mediterranean Sea in America’s first war, the Tripolitan War. In April 1983 the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, was bombed, killing sixty-three people. Later that year, in October, 241 were killed in a suicide bombing of the U.S. Marine base in Beirut. Over the next two decades, military installations, embassies, nightclubs, cruise ships, and commercial airliners were all targets of terrorist attacks, culminating in the August 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 263 people and injuring more than five thousand. In response to those attacks, President Bill Clinton, on August 20, 1998, ordered cruise missile bombings of four al Qaeda training sites in Afghanistan. Two years later, on October 12, 2000, al Qaeda operatives attacked the USS Cole while it was docked at the port of Aden in Yemen. The attack killed seventeen sailors and injured thirty-nine others while destroying the ship.
The chief challenge that authorities in the United States and other nations faced was that these acts of terrorism were carried out by nonstate actors. That is, they were the work not of identifiable governments but of groups of people acting on their own. In some instances, terrorists were given safe haven and material support in various countries, such as Libya, Pakistan, and Afghanistan; Afghanistan had become a particular focus, for the Islamic Taliban regime in that country gave protection to the al Qaeda network. In other cases, the terrorists lived as fugitives, often in highly isolated parts of the Middle East, where it was difficult to track them down. Further, it was difficult to trace the money used to finance their operations. Much of that money was filtered through front organizations that claimed to serve religious and charitable purposes. It was also challenging to locate the individuals who were planning such attacks. In many cases, they entered or remained illegally in Western nations, where they joined with others in planning and executing acts of terrorism.
The first reports of the September 11, 2001, attacks were broadcast at 8:48 a.m., just minutes after the first airliner crash. When the second plane hit, it seemed clear that the crash was no accident. As much of the nation watched on television, the burning jet fuel from the airliners weakened the structure of the World Trade Center towers. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 and the North Tower at 10:28. It is likely that the hijackers deliberately chose cross-country flights because the planes would be filled to capacity with fuel. Suddenly, Lower Manhattan was turned into a dust-choked war zone as emergency personnel tried to deal with the crisis.
Throughout North America, the airlines worked feverishly to get all airplanes back on the ground. International flights were denied entry into American airspace, and many had to land in Canada. President Bush was first informed of the attacks at 9:03 as he was addressing a class of schoolchildren in Sarasota, Florida. Because of uncertainty about the possibility of subsequent attacks and where and when they might occur, officials kept the president on the move throughout the day. He arrived back in Washington, D.C., early in the evening and addressed the nation at 8:30 p.m.
In all, 2,999 people died as a direct result of the attacks. This figure includes the crew and passengers in the airliners, all of whom perished, and over one hundred people on the ground at the Pentagon. The bulk of the casualties were people who were working in or visiting the World Trade Center towers at the time of the attacks and who were unable to escape the buildings. Some, faced with the prospect of a fiery death, chose to leap out of windows to their deaths. More than four hundred of the dead were emergency workers, such as firefighters and police officers who responded to the initial fires caused by the airliners striking the World Trade Center and who were killed when the towers collapsed. In addition to the human cost, the 9/11 attacks had severe economic implications for the country, as airline travel was curtailed, investments lost value, and economic activity slowed, worsening an economic recession that was already under way.
Explanation and Analysis of the Document
Bush’s Address to the Nation on September 11, 2001, was brief, lasting just five minutes. The president used simple language to reach a broad audience. While the speech does not outline policy in detail, it hints at a significant change in America’s response to the terrorism of the 1990s and into the new millennium.
Bush opens his remarks by stating that the nation has been attacked by yet unidentified terrorists and that the victims were largely innocent civilians. He notes that thousands of lives were suddenly ended by “evil, despicable acts of terror” and then recalls the images seen in the media of “airplanes flying into buildings.” He characterizes the events as “acts of mass murder” intended to frighten the nation.
Bush states that even such acts of terror cannot shake the resolve of the nation, and in paragraph 3 he remarks that while such attacks can dent the steel of a building, they cannot dent the “steel of American resolve.” In paragraph 4 he develops the metaphor of the United States as a beacon of light for freedom and democracy and states that America was attacked because of that role. This paragraph is brief, but it establishes that America was targeted largely because it stands for freedom, opportunity, and values that are antithetical to those held by the terrorist organizations responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
In paragraph 5 Bush notes that the initial response to the attacks was by rescue workers representing “the best of America” as well as others who gave blood, housing, and other forms of support to their fellow Americans in a time of disaster. Here the president contrasts this heroism with the “worst of human nature” displayed by the terrorists. He goes on to explain that he has implemented the government’s emergency response plan, mentioning that the nation’s military is “powerful” and “prepared” and that emergency teams are working with local rescue efforts in New York and Washington, D.C.
In paragraph 7 Bush continues the theme of an immediate response to the aftermath of the attacks, stating that the nation’s first priority is to help those who are injured and to protect the nation from further attack. It was also vital for the president to reassure a stunned and grieving nation that essential government functions would continue without interruption and that people could rely on these services. In paragraph 8 he comments that federal agencies that had to be evacuated during the crisis would reopen the following day. He also assures the American people that the nation’s financial institutions would be “open for business” as well.
At the time of this address, it was not yet known who was responsible for the attacks. In paragraph 9 Bush states that the search is under way for those responsible and that he has directed the full resources of the “intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice.” At the end of this paragraph he makes a short but highly significant policy declaration that “we will make no distinction between the terrorists … and those who harbor them.” Because terrorists are generally nonstate actors, Bush holds countries that harbor them equally responsible for their actions.
Bush recognizes that he cannot act alone and needs support from both Congress at home and governments around the world. In paragraph 10 he thanks those members of Congress who have already joined in condemning the attacks and those foreign leaders who have called him to offer their condolences and support. Paragraph 11 continues this theme as Bush calls upon those who seek “peace and security in the world” to join in a common war against terrorism. This brief initial statement is the call to arms for what would soon become the global war on terror and the hallmark of Bush’s presidency. Bush concludes this paragraph with a religious theme, praying for help from a “greater power” and closing the paragraph with the often-quoted Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”
In the final substantive paragraph, Bush concludes his address by stating his conviction that September 11 was a day when all Americans “from every walk of life” were united in their resolve for justice and peace. He reiterates that America has “stood down enemies before” and will “do so this time” as well. He notes that “none of us will ever forget this day.” He concludes this paragraph by stating that the nation will “go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.” Bush then closes the address with his thanks and calls on God’s blessing for America.
Document Text
Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America—with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.