The Zimmermann Telegram: First World War

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The Zimmermann Telegram In 1917, the United States was on the brink of getting involved in the First World War as pressure increased on their neutral position. Germany was about to resume the use of submarine warfare and was certain that this would bring the United States into the war against them. In January of 1917, Germany’s foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann sent a coded telegram that proposed a military alliance with Germany in the war. Germany wanted Mexico to start a war with the U.S. in order to keep the American troops away from Europe. The coded telegram would become known as the Zimmermann Telegram. The United States would declare war on Germany in April of 1917 with the Zimmermann Telegram helping generate much of the support for …show more content…

The note that suggest the United states possibly remaining neutral, may actually be the cause of the United States going to war with Germany and not the submarine warfare, like Germany anticipated. “Unless the Berlin government promptly establishes its innocence of the charge of plotting to incite Japan and Mexico to war upon the United States the American people soon may find themselves at war with Germany” (Henning 1). This shows that the note was a major influence on the American people supporting the war against Germany. The Zimmermann note was very counter productive for Germany in that they did not get any support from Mexico and that it made the United States even closer to going to war with Germany. Both Mexico and Japan both denied receiving this telegram and provided some relief to officials. “With Mexico and Japan denying knowledge of the plot it is expected that foreign Minister Zimmermann and the German government will brand the charges false” (Henning 1). This would imply that President Wilson was deceived and the note was forged to get the United States to join the war. Another story was that the “British embassy at Mexico City obtained possession of the note, which was addressed to the German ambassador to Mexico, and promptly forwarded to Washington” (Henning 1). This was neither affirmed nor denied but as this point the note real or fake at the time did not matter, it had stirred up tensions between the United States and Germany and war seemed inevitable. This note shaped the United States relationship with Germany and would be a major push on the declaration of war on Germany that would follow in the coming months after the discovery of the note. The Zimmermann Telegram and increased tensions between the United States and Mexico and had also changed the publics view of the

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