Research Guides: September 11, 2001 Anniversary Guide: Primary Sources

Primary Sources Online

Complete 9/11 Commission Report
Issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
The September 11 Digital Archive
Uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. The Archive contains more than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images.
September 11, 2001 Documentary Project (Library of Congress)
This collection captures the reactions, eyewitness accounts, and diverse opinions of Americans and others in the months that followed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93.
September 11, 2001: Attack on America
Collection of documents pertaining to the events of September 11, 2001 maintained by The Avalon Project, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School, Yale University.
The September 11th Sourcebooks
Major digital library of documents relating to the September 11 terrorist attacks created and maintained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive
3000 hours of television from 20 channels over 7 days.

Select U.S. Government Documents Online

18 Years Later: The State of Homeland Security After 9/11
Field Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, September 9, 2019
Are We Prepared? Measuring the Impact of Preparedness Grants Since 9/11
Hearing before the Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session, June 25, 2013.
The Economic Effects of 9/11: A Retrospective Assessment by Gail E. Makinen
Publication Date: 2002
"CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress."
The FBI: Protecting the Homeland in the 21st Century
Report of the Congressionally-directed 9/11 Review Commission to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by Commissioners Bruce Hoffman, Edwin Meese III, Timothy J. Roemer.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill: Beneficiaries, Choices, and Costs by Elizabeth Bass
Publication Date: 2019
Beginning August 1, 2009, the Post-9/11 GI Bill extended educational benefits to service members who were on active duty in the military on or after September 11, 2001. At the request of the House Budget Committee, the Congressional Budget Office analyzed data from VA to understand the law’s cost, the types of educational programs beneficiaries enrolled in, and the institutions they attended. This analysis primarily describes spending in 2016, with some information from 2017 and some historical data from 2009 onward.
Post-9/11 National Threat Notification Efforts: Issues, Actions, and Options for Congress by John W. Rollins, Lynn J. Cunningham
Publication Date: 2005
"CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress."
The Rising Terrorist Threat and the Unfulfilled 9/11 Recommendation
Hearing before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, second session, July 23, 2014.
U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and the 9/11 Commission Recommendations by Susan B. Epstein
Publication Date: 2006
"CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress."
U.S. War Costs, Casualties, and Personnel Levels Since 9/11 by Christopher T. Mann
Publication Date: 2019
"CRS reports provide Congress with both anticipatory and on-demand research and analysis to support their legislative, oversight, and representational duties. All reports adhere to the core values of CRS; they are authoritative, objective and nonpartisan. Reports range in length from several pages to more than one-hundred pages and cover the full breadth of topics of interest to Congress."

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