ere, President Bush signs a 2004 bill that would fund efforts to protect Americans against biological terrorist attacks. The United States spends tens of billions of dollars every year on "homeland security."

Once Americans had accepted the shock of 9/11 to some degree, President Bush and his administration began working on a way to restructure the government so that another terrorist attack would be more difficult to accomplish. Bush immediately created the "Office of Homeland Security" to coordinate information and responses related to terrorism. In November 2002, the "office" became an official governmental department.

Approaching threats in this way was a major change. Before 2002, the executive branch of the U.S. government had 14 departments, including the Department of Defense, Department of Treasury, Department of Education, etc. The Department of Homeland Security was an entirely new department that centralized previously separate responsibilities like immigration, border control, customs, and other issues related to protecting the interior of the United States.

President Bush also signed the Patriot Act in October 2001. It granted the U.S. government permission to spy on people suspected of planning terrorist attacks. The Patriot Act was controversial because of its potential for abuse--would our government spy on us for reasons other than terrorism?--and its potential conflict with our constitutional rights. Some people felt that allowing the government to invade Americans' privacy in order to protect them was not a wise trade-off.

Color-coded "terrorism advisory" warnings became a part of everyday life after the 9/11 attacks.

However, many Americans were very fearful after the 9/11 attacks. They had watched the attacks happen on live TV, and reports of stress and psychological discomfort lingered in the months and years that followed. Before the attacks, Americans were confident in their country's strength, power, and security. But the events of 9/11 exposed how vulnerable any country really is to attack. The fact that terrorists could work in secret and attack from anywhere in the world had a profound effect on American psychology.

Use these flashcards to review the psychological effects of 9/11 and how life changed after the attacks.