In 1971 daniel ellsberg, working for the department of defense, found a large collection of classified documents that showed that many members of the u. s. government did not believe the vietnam war was winnable, despite public assertions to the contrary. ellsberg turned to the fourth estate, giving the documents to:

Ellsberg gave the documents to the New York Times and the Washington Post. These documents, known as the Pentagon Papers, revealed how the federal government had continued to pour resources into Vietnam despite the evidence that shows that this war was likely to be unsuccessful.

When American citizens saw the documents published in the newspapers, they were appalled and furious with the government. This provided proof that the federal government had been lying to them about the progress in Vietnam. This helps spark the movement to get the US out of the Vietnam War permanently.