Lesson Plan: Presidents v. Press – How the Pentagon Papers Leak Set Up First Amendment Showdowns
Grades 9-12
In June 1971, The New York Times published the first stories about a classified report known as the Pentagon Papers on U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Publication set off a First Amendment showdown between the Nixon administration and the press. In the Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. United States, the court had to decide whether the First Amendment provided the press with the freedom to inform the public, even through the publication of classified materials? Justices ruled 6-3 in favor of The Times. In the years since that ruling, news organizations have published classified materials and the government has taken steps to find the source of leaks, creating new flashpoints in press freedom.
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