Pentagon Papers facts for kids
The Pentagon Papers were a secret government study about the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. This study looked at how the U.S. got involved in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.
Contents
What Were the Pentagon Papers?
The official name for the Pentagon Papers was Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force. It was a detailed history put together by the United States Department of Defense, which is the part of the U.S. government that manages the country's military. The report covered many years, showing how the U.S. became more and more involved in Vietnam.
How the Papers Became Public
A man named Daniel Ellsberg had worked on this secret study. He believed the American public needed to know what was in the papers. So, he decided to share them. The papers first appeared on the front page of The New York Times, a major newspaper, in 1971.
What the Papers Revealed
The Pentagon Papers showed many important things. For example, a 1996 article in The New York Times said the papers revealed that the Johnson Administration (the government led by President Lyndon B. Johnson) "systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress." This meant the government had hidden important information from the public and even from lawmakers about the war.
Images for kids
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Shortly after their release in June 1971, the Pentagon Papers were featured on the cover of Time magazine for revealing "The Secret War" of the United States in Vietnam.
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U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower greets South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem, whose rise to power was backed by the United States, according to the Pentagon Papers
See also
In Spanish: Pentagon Papers para niños
