Movie poster for Steven Spielberg's 1998 film, 'Saving Private Ryan.'

On 9/11, Heather Penney Tried to Bring Down Flight 93 in a Kamikaze Mission

Slave family picking cotton in the fields near Savannah, circa 1860s. (Credit: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images)

Greg Timmons

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HISTORY

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.</p>


21st Century

<p>The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.</p>


U.S. Government and Politics

<p>The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.</p>


Civil War

<p>World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.</p>


World War II

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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Black History

<p>Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.</p>


Greg Timmons ‑ Stories

The Biggest Landslide in Midterm Election History

On 9/11, Heather Penney Tried to Bring Down Flight 93

Saving Private Ryan: The Real‑Life D‑Day Back Story

Churchill and Roosevelt Spent Years Planning D‑Day

How Slavery Became the Economic Engine of the South