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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The Pentagon Papers were a classified U.S. Defense Department history of American involvement in Vietnam from 1945 through 1967. Commissioned by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara in 1967, the study documented how U.S. policy developed, what officials said publicly, what government records showed internally, and how diplomacy unfolded. In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo copied the report, and The New York Times began publishing excerpts. The National Archives released the complete declassified report in 2011.
What were the Pentagon Papers?
The formal title was United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967; the National Archives catalogs it as the Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force. It was a Defense Department study, not a congressional report or an Army Corps of Engineers project. The task force drew on government records and was assembled under Leslie H. Gelb. The Archives says the report was delivered to Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford on January 15, 1969.
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The complete declassified collection comprises about 7,000 pages in 48 boxes, according to the National Archives collection page. It is a multi-volume documentary history, rather than a single memo or a verdict on the war.
What did the Pentagon Papers reveal?
They laid out the long sequence of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and made it possible to compare public explanations of policy with the internal record behind decisions. Their coverage spans the early U.S. relationship with Vietnam, the French war and Geneva Accords, the growth and escalation of American involvement, official statements, internal government documents across administrations, and diplomatic efforts.
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The significance is not that the report proves every administration lied about every aspect of the war. Its evidence is extensive but specific to particular periods, documents, and decisions. It shows how public justifications and internal deliberations could differ, and how successive choices deepened U.S. commitments. It also documents negotiations that were absent from some versions circulated earlier.
How were the Papers leaked and published?
Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo copied the classified report. The New York Times began publishing material from it on June 13, 1971; other newspapers and outlets subsequently published material as well. The installments in newspapers and magazines represented only a small portion of the complete study.
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The government sought to stop continued publication, taking the dispute through federal courts to the Supreme Court. The case concerned whether the government could impose prior restraint on these newspapers—not whether anyone may publish any classified information. The Supreme Court’s 1971 decision allowed the newspapers to resume publication. The Federal Judicial Center’s case resource frames the dispute as a conflict between national-security arguments and freedom of the press.
Are the versions from 1971 complete?
No single 1971 publication should be treated as the complete, unaltered report. The editions differed in completeness and arrangement:
| Version | What to know |
|---|---|
| Newspaper and magazine installments | Published selections from the report; they represented only a small share of the whole. |
| Senator Gravel Edition | The influential 1971 Beacon Press edition had reproduction-related omissions, and its editors rearranged volumes. |
| House Armed Services Committee edition | Followed the original arrangement, but text had been removed during declassification review. |
| National Archives release | The complete declassified report, released in 2011 and arranged as the official report. |
The Archives reported that about 2,384 pages—approximately 34% of the report—were available for the first time compared with the Senator Gravel Edition when the complete report was released in 2011. These figures describe the archival material and earlier editions, not the Papers’ political impact. The Archives’ 2011 release announcement explains the release and its contents.
Where can you read the complete report?
The National Archives’ Pentagon Papers collection page provides access to the complete declassified report and its freely available PDFs. That is the best starting point for reading the official record. A print edition such as the Senator Gravel Edition can be useful as a historical publication, but it is not a complete facsimile and is not necessary to access the Papers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did Nixon say when the leak became public?
A separate primary source helps illustrate the White House’s immediate reaction, but it is not part of the Pentagon Papers. In a June 13, 1971 telephone conversation with Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs Alexander Haig, President Richard Nixon discussed the leaked material. Haig called it “the most incredible thing,” referring to White House and other government papers. Nixon replied, “We have been more careful, haven’t we?” and later, “That’s why we don’t tell them anything.” These lines are from the conversation transcript published by the State Department Office of the Historian, not from the report itself: June 13, 1971 Nixon–Haig telephone conversation.
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