September 11 transformed the international situation, the domestic political environment, and the Bush presidency. An outpouring of popular patriotism followed the attacks, all the more impressive because it was spontaneous, not orchestrated by the government or private organizations. Throughout the country, people demonstrated their sense of resolve and their sympathy for the victims by displaying the American flag. Public trust in government rose dramatically, and public servants like firemen and policemen became national heroes. After two decades in which the dominant language of American politics centered on deregulation and individualism, the country experienced a renewed feeling of common social purpose. Americans of all backgrounds shared the sense of having lived through a traumatic experience.
The Bush administration benefited from this patriotism and identification with government. The president’s popularity soared. As in other crises, Americans looked to the federal government, and especially the president, for reassurance, leadership, and decisive action. Bush seized the opportunity to give his administration a new direction and purpose. Like presidents before him, he made freedom the rallying cry for a nation at war.
This photograph of three emergency-response workers at the World Trade Center site suggests that the composition of the construction industry labor force had become more diverse as a result of the civil rights movement.
A homemade float in a July 4, 2002, parade in Amherst, Massachusetts, illustrates how the “twin towers” had become a symbol of American patriotism.
On September 20, 2001, Bush addressed a joint session of Congress and a national television audience. His speech echoed the words of FDR, Truman, and Reagan: “Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom ... now depends on us.” The country’s antagonists, Bush went on, “hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to assemble and disagree with each other.” In later speeches, he repeated this theme. Why did terrorists attack the United States, the president repeatedly asked. His answer: “Because we love freedom, that’s why. And they hate freedom.”