Pentagon Papers
Leaked war study
The Pentagon Papers were classified documents leaked in 1971 revealing that the U.S. government had systematically deceived the public about the Vietnam War.
Daniel Ellsberg, a military analyst, provided the secret study to newspapers.
The Nixon administration's attempt to suppress publication led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling protecting press freedom.
Nation's top tribunal
- First AmendmentConstitutional free expression guarantee
- injunctionCourt-ordered behavioral requirement
- prior restraintPrepublication suppression of speech
- national securitySafeguarding a country's interests
landmark ruling · constitutional · censorship · gag order · court order · appeal · solicitor general · legal battle
Major American broadsheet
- Washington PostMajor D.C. newspaper
- publicationIssued written material
- scoopFirst-reported story
- investigative reportingJournalism exposing hidden truths
editor · newsroom · front page · press freedom · journalism · media · breaking story · coverage
1969-1974 executive branch
- Watergate1970s political crisis
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- executive powerGovernment's enforcement capacity
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
public trust · credibility gap · political crisis · accountability · transparency · White House · abuse of power · obstruction
Files with access restrictions
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- photocopyingReproducing documents mechanically
- sourcePoint of origin
- informantOne who provides intelligence
conscience · civil disobedience · courage · integrity · exposure · revelation · risk · prosecution
Former Vietnamese capital
- Tet OffensiveCoordinated 1968 guerrilla assault
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese nationalist leader
- Agent OrangeWartime defoliant chemical
- Gulf of TonkinInlet between Vietnam, China
Indochina · My Lai Massacre · McNamara · Westmoreland · escalation · troop deployment · bombing campaign · body count
Supreme Court
Nation's top tribunal
- First AmendmentConstitutional free expression guarantee
- injunctionCourt-ordered behavioral requirement
- prior restraintPrepublication suppression of speech
national security · landmark ruling · constitutional · censorship · gag order · court order · appeal · solicitor general · legal battle · press freedom
New York Times
Major American broadsheet
- Washington PostMajor D.C. newspaper
- publicationIssued written material
- scoopFirst-reported story
investigative reporting · editor · newsroom · front page · press freedom · journalism · media · breaking story · coverage · expose
Nixon administration
1969-1974 executive branch
- Watergate1970s political crisis
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- executive powerGovernment's enforcement capacity
scandal · public trust · credibility gap · political crisis · accountability · transparency · White House · abuse of power · obstruction · enemies list
classified documents
Files with access restrictions
- disclosureAct of revealing information
- photocopyingReproducing documents mechanically
- sourcePoint of origin
informant · conscience · civil disobedience · courage · integrity · exposure · revelation · risk · prosecution · Espionage Act
Saigon
Former Vietnamese capital
- Tet OffensiveCoordinated 1968 guerrilla assault
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese nationalist leader
- Agent OrangeWartime defoliant chemical
Gulf of Tonkin · Indochina · My Lai Massacre · McNamara · Westmoreland · escalation · troop deployment · bombing campaign · body count · domino theory
- 1971Apollo 14, Apollo 15, A Clockwork Orange, Dirty Harry, The French Connection
- classified inteltop secret, classified, classified documents, state secrets, military secrets
- military scandalsAbu Ghraib, Iran-Contra, torture, cover-ups, prisoner abuse
- scandalsscandal, controversy, coverup, cover-up, disgrace
- Sixties Activismanti-war movement, anti-war protests, campus protests, counterculture, draft resistance
- WhistleblowersEdward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Deep Throat, leakers, exposers
Pentagon Papersclassified documents
Files with access restrictions
state secrets · sealed records · government cover-up · black budget · suppressed evidence
Pentagon Papersgovernment cover-up
State concealment of wrongdoing
stonewalling · document shredding · plausible deniability · memory hole · propaganda
Pentagon Papersdeclassified documents
Previously restricted information made public
official report · congressional testimony · presidential address · classified briefing · press briefing
paper, papers, papered, paperwork, papyrus, papering, papery, paperless, Pentagon