What Major Event Happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? Civics Question 115

Terrorists attacked the United States.

Question 115 asks what major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States. The short accepted answer is that terrorists attacked the United States. Longer answers name the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the plane aimed at Washington, D.C. that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. This is a starred question, so it also appears on the shorter test taken by applicants who are 65 or older.

What the Official List Accepts

• Terrorists attacked the United States.
• Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City.
• Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
• Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed it in a field in Pennsylvania.

Any one of them is marked correct. The first is a single short sentence, and the others add a place.

Why the Officer Asks This

This is the most recent event covered on the civics list, and it closes the history section.

It is also a starred question, so it appears on the shorter list of twenty questions used for applicants who are 65 or older and have been permanent residents for twenty years. Starred questions are worth extra practice for that reason.

How to Remember It

The date is inside the question, so you do not have to supply it. What the question asks for is the event.

The short answer holds the three parts an officer needs, in the order they come: who, terrorists. What, attacked. Where, the United States. Six words, said once.

Keep the Answer Short

Give one answer and stop. The longer answers carry place names that have to come out correctly, and they say the same thing the short answer already says.

The list does not ask for numbers, names, or anything beyond the event itself, so do not add any. An officer needs one correct statement to mark the question.

What to Say on Test Day

Say “terrorists attacked the United States.” Then stop.

Do not add detail, and do not correct yourself into a longer answer. One sentence from the list is the whole requirement.