‘A Terrible Price’

Excerpt on Sept. 11 terrorist attacks from “The American Nation,” a middle-school history textbook published by Prentice-Hall:

On the evening of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans across the nation gathered in grief. Many people wept openly. Some held candles. On the steps of the Capitol Building, the leaders of Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, stood shoulder to shoulder, united in a new resolve “to fight evil.”

The candlelight vigils marked the end of a tragic day. That morning, hijackers had crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the tallest buildings in New York City and symbols of American financial might. The towers burned and collapsed. A third hijacked plane struck American military headquarters at the Pentagon near Washington. Over 5,000 people died. It was the deadliest day in America since the Civil War.

The hijackers were terrorists from the Middle East. As you read, the United States would often be called on to lead in resolving regional conflicts. But world leadership, as grief-stricken Americans learned on Sept. 11, could carry a terrible price.