Daniel Ellsberg

After it was confirmed that Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times, Henry Kissinger, President Nixon’s national security advisor referred to him as the most dangerous man in America and a man who should be stopped. Ellsberg’s story that led to Kissinger’s conclusion began 26 years before.

It was between the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War when Ellsberg began ninth grade. He was nerdy and scrawny and not a bit threatening. As a high school student interested in world events, Ellsberg focused on Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, who was taking over territory and installing puppet dictatorships in Eastern European nations. After graduating third in his Harvard class, he joined the Marines and served as a lieutenant. After his tour of duty, he returned to Harvard and earned a PhD in Economics.

Ellsberg worked...