History of the United States II / Unit 15 USH2 2143 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Pentagon Papers
Captions available
The idea
In June nineteen seventy-one newspapers began publishing the Pentagon Papers, a confidential Defense Department history of American involvement in Vietnam, and Attorney General John Mitchell sought to stop them.
In practice
A secret history, the Yawp says, commissioned by the Defense Department and later leaked.
Where people slip
On June thirtieth, nineteen seventy-one, the Supreme Court ruled that publication could not be blocked, the anchor records.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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