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Pentagon Papers

STORY PREFACE

Story Summary

In revealing the workings of government
that led to the Vietnam war, the newspapers
nobly did precisely that which the Founders
hoped and trusted they would do.

Justice Hugo Black
New York Times Co. v. United States
June 30, 1971

It should have been a good day for President Nixon. His daughter's picture was on the front page of the New York Times. But Tricia Nixon's wedding was not the only significant story reported in the June 13, 1971 edition of the Times. There, for all the world to see, was the first of a planned series of stories sure to anger the American public.

Years earlier, Robert McNamara (Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson) had commissioned a top-secret study on American involvement in Vietnam. Documents from that study had found their way into a reporter’s hands. And those hands (belonging to Neil Sheehan) had crafted a story destined to embarrass every Administration from Eisenhower on. The most damaging papers related to the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations.

There was only one solution to the government’s problem: Get an injunction to prevent the press from publishing any future stories. Nixon's Administration lost that battle, however. The documents were made public. Many paint a picture of government and military arrogance, lies and deception. (You will need Real Audio for this video clip of Neil Sheehan.)

Collectively those documents are known as "The Pentagon Papers." At the time, President Nixon thought so little of the article, he didn't bother to read it.

 

 

To cite this story, using MLA Guidelines:

Bos, Carole D. "Pentagon Papers" AwesomeStories.com. Date of access
       <http://awesomestories.com/history/pentagon-papers>.

IN OTHER WORDS: Author. Title of story. Name of web site. Date of access <URL>.