What Were the Pentagon Papers? | History

- On Sunday, June 13th 1971, the New York Times published a report that would change history. Their source was Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst working for the government. And the report, which would soon become known as the Pentagon Papers, included top secret and incriminating information about the Vietnam War. Between 1967 and 1969, Ellsberg worked on a classified project for the government called United States Vietnam Relations 1945-1967, a study prepared by the Department of Defense. The Pentagon Papers were not a good look for the United States government. Ellsberg's research showed that there were many military miscalculations, and even flat out lies told by politicians about US involvement in Vietnam. But why did Ellsberg decide to leak the papers to the New York Times? While working on the project, he realized he no longer supported the Vietnam War and thought it was unwinnable. In October of 1969, concerned that the public was being lied to, he began photocopying the report. He leaked some documents to members of Congress, but none of them went public. So in 1970, Ellsberg leaked portions to the New York Times and the Washington Post. The Pentagon Papers reveal that the government had been involved in Vietnam through several presidencies, unbeknownst to the American people. As early as 1950, the Truman administration gave military aid to France against the Viet Minh. In 1954, President Eisenhower sent aircraft and military assistance to Vietnam. By that time, the US was covering 80% of France's military expenses in Indochina. President Kennedy adopted a policy of broad commitment to the war in Vietnam, even though the American people had been told US involvement would be very limited. Then President Lyndon B Johnson waged military operations against North Vietnam. He began planning war in 1964, a full year before the depth of US involvement was revealed to the public. In 1971, when the New York Times broke the story, President Nixon quickly obtained a court injunction from a federal judge in New York, stopping the Times from printing any more articles. He argued that publishing the Pentagon Papers would limit the president's ability to guard national security. The Times adhered to the restraining order, but they filed an appeal. Meanwhile, Katharine Graham, head of the Washington Post, started publishing articles about the Pentagon Papers instead. Nixon tried to stop the Post as well, but unlike the judge in New York, the DC judge refused to issue an injunction. This allowed the Post to continue publishing about the secret report. The inconsistency between the Post and Times cases quickly brought both papers to trial in the Supreme Court. The Court decided that under the freedom of press, the government did not have a strong enough case to censor the press. Nixon lost the fight and the articles were printed. Ellsberg was still indicted under the Espionage Act for leaking government secrets. He could have been sentenced to 115 years in prison, but the charges were dropped after evidence of governmental misconduct came to light. Although the Pentagon Papers did not include any details on Nixon's conduct in Vietnam, the president was embarrassed by the publications. He subsequently sought to discredit Ellsberg by using a team he called "plumbers." They broke into Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to try to uncover embarrassing or harmful information that might make Ellsberg look bad. This was the same group of burglars who'd become famous for their role in the Watergate scandal. It didn't work. Ellsberg was free, and together with the New York Times, set a new precedent for the press, a responsibility to tell the truth, even if it means publishing classified documents.

Channel: HISTORY

Views: 130,058

Rating: 4.8785424 out of 5

Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, america, united states, explainer, learn about, information, facts, pentagon papers, pentagon papers case, pentagon papers movie, vietnam relations, department of defense, daniel ellsberg, johnson, vietnam, cambodia, laos, PLob1mZcVWOaggvYmwYlDYWK0vQwQA8Reo, What Were the Pentagon Papers?, Episode 1, Season 1, HISTORY Topical Video, American Revolution battles, architectural wonders, Civil War leaders

Id: E_-efpukppE

Length: 3min 57sec (237 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 20 2018