The Publication of the Pentagon Papers

The publication by the New York Times of a secret government history of the Vietnam War in 1971 was a significant milestone in the history of American journalism. The Pentagon Papers, as they became known, also set into motion of chain of events that would lead to the Watergate scandals which began the following year. The appearance of the Pentagon Papers on the front page of the newspaper on Sunday, June 13, 1971, infuriated President Richard Nixon. The newspaper possessed so much material leaked to it by a former government official, Daniel Ellsberg, that it intended to publish  a continuing series drawing upon the classified documents. Key Takeaways: The Pentagon Papers These leaked documents detailed many years of American involvement in Vietnam.Publication by the New York Times brought sharp reaction from the Nixon administration, which ultimately led to unlawful actions of the Watergate scandal.The New York Times won a landmark Supreme Court decision hailed as a victory for the First Amendment.Daniel Ellsberg, who provided the secret documents to the press, was targeted by the government but the prosecution fell apart due to government misconduct. At Nixons direction, the federal government, for the first time in history, went to court to prevent a newspaper from publishing material.   The court battle between one of the countrys great newspapers and the Nixon administration gripped the nation. And when the New York Times obeyed a temporary court order to cease publication of the Pentagon Papers, other newspapers, including the Washington Post, began publishing their own installments of the once-secret documents. Within weeks, the New York Times prevailed in a Supreme Court decision. The press victory was deeply resented by Nixon and his top staff, and they responded by beginning their own secret war against leakers in the government. Actions by a group of White House staffers calling themselves â€Å"The Plumbers† would lead to a series of covert actions that escalated into the Watergate scandals. What Was Leaked The Pentagon Papers represented an official and classified history of United States involvement in Southeast Asia. The project was initiated by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, in 1968. McNamara, who had masterminded Americas escalation  of the Vietnam War, had become deeply disillusioned. Out of an apparent sense of remorse, he commissioned a team of military officials and scholars to compile documents and analytical papers which would comprise the Pentagon Papers. And while the leaking and publication of the Pentagon Papers was viewed as a sensational event, the material itself was generally quite dry. Much of the material consisted of strategy memos circulated among government officials in the early years of American involvement in Southeast Asia. The publisher of the New York Times, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, later quipped, Until I read the Pentagon Papers I did not know that it was possible to read and sleep at the same time. Daniel Ellsberg   The man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, had gone through his own lengthy transformation over the Vietnam War. Born on April 7, 1931, he had been a brilliant student who attended Harvard on a scholarship. He later studied at Oxford, and interrupted his graduate studies to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1954. After serving three years as a Marine officer, Ellsberg returned to Harvard, where he received a doctorate in economics. In 1959 Ellsberg accepted a position at the Rand Corporation, a prestigious think tank which studied defense and national security issues.   For several years Ellsberg studied the Cold War, and in the early 1960s he began to focus on the emerging conflict in Vietnam. He visited Vietnam to help assess potential American military involvement, and in 1964 he accepted a post in the Johnson administration State Department. Ellsberg’s career became deeply intertwined with the American escalation in Vietnam. In the mid-1960s he visited the country frequently and even considered enlisting in the Marine Corps again so he could participate in combat operations. (By some accounts, he was dissuaded from seeking a combat role as his knowledge of classified material and high-level military strategy would have made him a security risk should he be captured by the enemy.) In 1966 Ellsberg returned to the Rand Corporation. While in that position, he was contacted by Pentagon officials to participate in the writing of the Vietnam War’s secret history. Ellsberg’s Decision to Leak Daniel Ellsberg was one of about three-dozen scholars and military officers who participated in creating the massive study of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia from 1945 to the mid-1960s. The entire project stretched into 43 volumes, containing 7,000 pages. And it was all considered highly classified. As Ellsberg held a high security clearance, he was able to read vast amounts of the study. He came to the conclusion that the American public had been seriously misled by the presidential administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson.   Ellsberg also came to believe that President Nixon, who had entered the White House in January 1969, was needlessly prolonging a pointless war. As Ellsberg became increasingly unsettled by the idea that many American lives were being lost because of what he considered deception, he became determined to leak parts of the secret Pentagon study. He began by taking pages out of his office at the Rand Corporation and copying them, using a Xerox machine at a friends business. Seeking a way to publicize what he had discovered, Ellsberg first began to approach staff members on Capitol Hill, hoping to interest members working for members of Congress in copies of the classified documents.   The efforts to leak to Congress led nowhere. Congressional staffers were either skeptical of what Ellsberg claimed to have, or were afraid of receiving classified material without authorization. Ellsberg, in February 1971, decided to go outside the government. He gave portions of the study to Neil Sheehan, a New York Times reporter who had been a war correspondent in Vietnam. Sheehan recognized the importance of the documents, and approached his editors at the newspaper. Publishing the Pentagon Papers The New York Times, sensing the significance  of the material Ellsberg had passed to Sheehan, took extraordinary action. The material would need  to be read and assessed for news value, so the newspaper assigned a team of editors to review the documents.   To prevent word of the project from getting out, the newspaper created what was essentially a secret newsroom in a Manhattan hotel suite several blocks from the newspaper’s headquarters building. Every day for ten weeks a team of editors hid away in the New York Hilton, reading the Pentagon’s secret history of the Vietnam War. The editors at the New York Times decided a substantial amount of  material should be published, and they planned to run the material as a continuing series. The first installment appeared on the top center of the front page of the large Sunday paper on June 13, 1971. The headline was understated: Vietnam Archive: Pentagon Study Traces 3 Decades of Growing U.S. Involvement. Six pages of documents appeared inside the Sunday paper, headlined, â€Å"Key Texts From Pentagon’s Vietnam Study.† Among the documents reprinted in the newspaper were diplomatic cables, memos sent to Washington by American generals in Vietnam, and a report detailing covert actions which had preceded open U.S. military involvement in Vietnam. Before publication, some editors at the newspaper advised caution. The most recent documents being published would be several years old and posed no threat to American troops in Vietnam. Yet the material was classified and it was likely the government would take legal action.   Nixon’s Reaction On the day the first installment appeared, President Nixon was told about it by a national security aide, General Alexander Haig (who would later become Ronald Reagan’s first secretary of state). Nixon, with Haig’s encouragement, became increasingly agitated.   The revelations appearing in the pages of the New York Times did not directly implicate Nixon or his administration. In fact, the documents tended to portray politicians Nixon detested, specifically his predecessors, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, in a bad light.   Yet Nixon had reason to be very concerned. The publication of so much secret government material offended many in the government, especially those working in national security or serving in the highest ranks of the military.   And the audacity of the leaking was very disturbing to Nixon and his closest staff members, as they were worried that some of their own secret activities might someday come to light. If the country’s most prominent newspaper could print page after page of classified government documents, where might that lead?   Nixon advised his attorney general, John Mitchell, to take action to stop the New York Times from publishing more material. On Monday morning, June 14, 1971, the second installment of the series appeared on the front page of the New York Times. That night, as the newspaper was preparing to publish the third installment for the Tuesday paper, a telegram from the U.S. Department of Justice arrived at the New York Times headquarters. It demanded that the newspaper stop publishing the material it had obtained.   The publisher of the newspaper responded by saying the  newspaper would obey a court order if one was issued. But short of that, it would continue publishing. The front page of Tuesdays newspaper carried a prominent headline, â€Å"Mitchell Seeks to Halt Series on Vietnam But Times Refuses.†Ã‚   The next day, Tuesday, June 15, 1971, the federal government went to court and secured an injunction which stopped the New York Times from proceeding with the publication of any more of the documents Ellsberg had leaked. With the series of articles in the Times halted, another major newspaper, the Washington Post, began publishing material from the secret study which had been leaked to it. And by the middle of the first week of the drama, Daniel Ellsberg was identified as the leaker. He found himself the subject of an F.B.I. manhunt. The Court Battle The New York Times went to federal court to fight against the injunction. The governments case contended that material in the Pentagon Papers endangered national security and the federal government had a right to prevent its publication. The team of lawyers representing the New York Times argued that the publics right to know was paramount, and that the material was of great historic value and did not pose any current threat to national security. The court case moved though the federal courts at surprising speed, and arguments were held at the Supreme Court on Saturday, June 26, 1971, only 13 days after the first installment of the Pentagon Papers appeared. The arguments at the Supreme Court lasted for two hours. A newspaper account published the following day on the front page of the New York Times noted a fascinating detail: Visible in public — at least in cardboard-clad bulk — for the first time were the 47 volumes of 7,000 pages of 2.5-million words of the Pentagons private history of the Vietnam War. It was a government set. The Supreme Court issued a decision affirming the right of newspapers to publish the Pentagon Papers on June 30, 1971. The following day, the New York Times featured a headline across the entire top of the front page: Supreme Court, 6-3, Upholds Newspapers On Publication of the Pentagon Report; Times Resumes Its Series, Halted 15 Days. The New York Times continued publishing excerpts of the Pentagon Papers. The newspaper featured front-age articles based on the secret documents through July 5, 1971, when it published its ninth and final installment. Documents  from the Pentagon Papers were also quickly published in a paperback book, and its publisher, Bantam, claimed to have one  million copies in print by mid-July 1971. Impact of the Pentagon Papers For newspapers, the Supreme Court decision was inspiring and emboldening. It affirmed that the government could not enforce  prior restraint to block publication of material it wanted kept from public view. However, inside the Nixon administration the resentment felt toward the press only deepened. Nixon and his top aides became fixated on Daniel Ellsberg. After he was identified as the leaker, he was charged with a number of crimes ranging from illegal possession of government documents to violating the Espionage Act. If convicted, Ellsberg could have faced more than 100 years in prison. In an effort to discredit Ellsberg (and other leakers) in the eyes of the public, White House aides formed a group they called The Plumbers. On September 3, 1971, less than three months after the Pentagon Papers began appearing in the press, burglars directed by White House aide E. Howard Hunt  broke into the office of Dr. Lewis Fielding, a California psychiatrist. Daniel Ellsberg had been a patient of Dr. Fielding, and the Plumbers were hoping to find damaging material about Ellsberg in the doctors files. The break-in, which was disguised to look like a random burglary, produced no useful material for the Nixon administration to use against Ellsberg. But it indicated the lengths to which government officials would go to attack perceived enemies. And the White House Plumbers would later play major roles the following year in what became the Watergate scandals. Burglars connected to the White House Plumbers were arrested at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate office complex in June 1972. Daniel Ellsberg, incidentally, faced a federal trial. But when details of the illegal campaign against him, including the burglary at Dr. Fieldings office,  became known, a federal judge dismissed all charges against him.

Analysis of Ramon Gutierrez Novel When Jesus Came, the...

The Intruders Ramon Gutierrez, the author of book When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away reveals through research and evidence what occurred in New Mexico during 1500-1846. The Spaniards had difficulty submitting the Pueblo Indians, living in New Mexico however it was not an easy task. In addition, the Pueblo Indians are faced with another intruder the Franciscans who claim will save the natives’ souls. This book shows the native perspective and their social lives before and after the Spaniards intrusion into New Mexico. These intruders, the Spaniards and Franciscans, forcibly alter the natives’ culture, marriage, and sexuality, claiming to civilize these savages. These events are easily comprehensible due to the structure of the book. Ramon Gutierrez’ book categorizes the information into three parts making it simpler for people to understand what transpired. The three categories are as follows: the sixteenth century, the seventeenth century, and the eighte enth century. The first category presents the Indians way of culture before the Spanish influence. The book goes into the mindset of the natives, letting the reader see the Indians in a different angle than what other presents them. Usually, the Indians are portrayed as unintelligent, uncivilized Indians without a structured society in biased books, however this book gives a more unbiased view. The beginning several pages of the first section reveals how their religion came about and how the Acoma Indians

Homeschooling should replace normal schooling Free Essays

Homeschooling should replace normal schooling for the betterment of students in Hong Kong. Homeschooling refers to the education of children at home, typically by parents or tutors, unlike the formal settings of schools. In many countries around the world, children are not legally obligated to attend school. We will write a custom essay sample on Homeschooling should replace normal schooling or any similar topic only for you Order Now In England, France, Canada, the United States and Australia, it is perfectly legal for parents to educate their kids at home. Homeschooling is becoming more popular every day, with a growth rate of 7 to 15 percent per year over the world. There are about two million children currently earning at home in the world. Homeschooled kids do well on standardized tests, are welcome at college and universities, and as adults, have a reputation for being self- directed learners and reliable employees. This essay is going to examine whether homeschooling should replace normal schooling for the betterment of students in Hong Kong. Homeschooling makes children miss the golden opportunity to practice their social skills. School is the miniature of society. One needs to have not only knowledge of the world, but also interpersonal communication skills in order to survive, not to mention excel in a society. If a child is taught at home solely by his/ her parents, the child misses the chance to meet and interact with other kids. Peer learning has vital benefits as well. By communicating with friends, students can improve their interpersonal skills. Homeschooled children cannot take part in extra-curricular activities like debate, choir and team sports. As interactive learning is such an important component in modern education, homeschooling deprives children of their chance to develop their social skills and network, and even friends. Furthermore, home is not the most suitable environment for learning which lower he effectiveness of learning. Home cannot provide many different hardware which can only be provided by day schools. For instance, the different kinds of experiments must be conducted in a safety equipped and qualified laboratory . The many apparatus like Bunsen Burner, funnel and beaker can only be found in a laboratory. Home can never provide such hardware to support the diverse learning needs of children . The equipment of language labs, music room and library only appear in a school setting. Besides, there are too many temptations at home, such as television nd computer games, which would prevent children from concentrating on learning. Homeschooling undermines the development of creative thinking. Parents-to- children teaching is atter all the indoctrination ot parents thinking and values system to their children. In Hong Kong, most parents are very concerned about their children and hope them have a bright future. Therefore, they may try to give what they think is the best to the children. It is common that parents force their children to have piano lesson, choir practice, drawing class and so on in Hong Kong. Parents tend to orcefully spoon feed what they want their children to know. In many cases, children cannot develop multiple thinking perspectives. They Just do what their parents ask them to do. Their creativity and critical thinking, which are highly-valued in today’s competitive world, can hardly be formed. On the other hand, it is not suitable to implement home-schooling in Hong Kong. Most parents have full time Job. They do not have time to teach their children. Moreover, parents are not professional in teaching when compared to trained teachers. They may not know how to teach their children effectively. Also, it is impossible for parents to know all knowledge of different subjects. In school, teachers are specialize in few subjects and they can concentrate on those subjects to prepare teaching materials. According to Bill and Ana Moody, who homeschool their children, they admitted that it is hard to teach science topics properly at home. They do not have sufficient knowledge of science and science requires to do experiments. Homeschooling brings another problem: how to assess the ability of students? Hong Kong is a knowledge-based society, it is important to have certificates to prove ne’s academic Usually, one will get a Job easily with higher education level. Different jobs have different required education levels. If homeschooling is implemented, there is no standard to assess students unless all students Join public examinations offered by authorized organization and the Education Bureau. Homeschooling does not provide a standard to assess whether students has understand the knowledge fully. As every parents and tutors may have design a different curriculum for students, there is no standard of what basic knowledge that students should learn. Some people argued that a unified education system simply cannot cater for the individual needs of each and every student and, therefore, homeschooling is a better way for children to learn as it is more flexible which can cater individual’s needs. It can provide a tailor-made learning schedule which can cater learning speed of the children and specific requirements by those who best understand them: their parents. It may allow students a more flexible combination of subjects which cater for individual needs. This would arouse interest in study, giving students the initiative to learn. However, small class teaching , which is quite popular in Hong Kong, can also cater the needs of different children. Due to the decreasing birth rate, schools started to implement small-class teaching and has smaller teacher-to student ratio. This allows teachers to pay more attention to each student in class. Flexible combination of subjects can also be achieved by new curriculum. In the past, usually students were divided into art, science and commerce classes and they were only allowed to choose subjects which are related to each other. Now, students under the new curriculum are allowed to choose subjects freely. For example, student can choose to study Biology, a science subject, and grapny, an art subject. Some also claimed that homeschooling can enhance close family relationship. However, this may not be true. Conflicts and arguments are easily happened when parents stay with their children all the time. Parents may easily lose temper when their children are not listening to them or cannot follow their teaching schedule as they are more emotionally affected when facing their own children. Moreover, children may easily lose concentration on learning as there are too many temptations at home as mentioned before. If parents punished their children for this, the parent- child relationship would suffer. All in all, homeschooling should not replace normal schooling for the betterment of students as there are too many weaknesses of homeschooling though admitted that normal schooling has its flaws. In the current education system, students are required to study a fixed and long syllabus within a short period of time. Students study under tremendous pressure and may eventually lose interest in study. However, homeschooling neglects the social development of children which is vital in modern society. How to cite Homeschooling should replace normal schooling, Papers