Question

Why did Americans begin to distrust private and public institutions (the government) less by the end of the 1960’s?

Answer 1

One of the major reasons why Americans distrusted public institutions like the government was because of the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. This series of government documents that were supposed to be classified, essentially showed that the US federal government had been lying about the progress the US was making in the Vietnam War. These documents caused outrage all over the country, as thousands of American men were drafted into this military conflict for what seemed like a failed mission.