The Zimmermann Telegram and Its True Purpose Essay

The Mexican War was viewed as one of the most controversial wars in United States history. Originating from the annexation of Texas, or the lack thereof in Mexico’s eyes, the final spark to cause the war was an incident between soldiers of both countries in disputed land. Both Mexico and the US claimed to have been provoked by the other, and that they were only protecting their country. Many US citizens argued the war, as it appeared President Polk was using it for reasons other than self defense. By going to war with Mexico, the US faced the possibility of gaining much more of Mexico’s land and extending slavery in the country. The United States' decision to go to war with Mexico was based on a desire to extend slavery, to gain land they had

According to James Polk’s War Message,Washington, May 11, 1846, he states “I had ordered an efficient military to take position between the Nueces and the Del Norte.” This quote proves that between the Nueces and the Del Norte was Mexico’s land, that Mexico was just trying to protect. According to Jesus Velasco-Marquez from “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States”, Jesus states, “In the eyes of the [Mexican] government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack on Mexico.” This evidence shows that Mexico viewed the mobilization of the U.S army as an attack on them, and that Mexico wasn’t trying to escalate things, they were just trying to protect their

On April 2, 1917 the United States entered WWI declaring war against Germany and its allies. The deciding factor for the U.S. to enter the war is due to one document, the Zimmerman Telegram. The document was sole proof to many Americans that Germany’s intentions were not only causing harm on European soil but bringing it across the seas to American soil. It stated that Germany had no intentions on slowing down its submarine warfare to which they hoped to keep the Americans neutral, but if they failed in doing so they offered an alliance among themselves and Mexico. The understanding was that Mexico would declare war on the United States and help the Germans and in return they would receive their land they had lost to America in years past,

Another factor that led to the United States’ entry into World War I, was the Zimmerman Telegram. The Zimmerman Telegram was a telegram issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917. It proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States' entering World War I against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. The message was in the form of a coded telegram sent by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur

The Mexican government were seen as not knowing what they were doing, especially after them gaining independence from Spain in 1821 because the Mexican leaders lacked experience in politics, on top of being a nation that had deep-rooted connection to Spain’s ideologies rather than that of their own. While the United States thrived from the time of its colonial origins, for Mexico to modernize after gaining independence meant breaking its structures, destroying old institutions and building new ones whilst juggling an aggressive neighbor who eagerly sought more land. By putting into context the origin of the soon-to-be-at-war states, it is easier to comprehend why holding aggressive nationalistic behavior was the norm with the United States when they decided to take on its southern neighbor as the state’s population started to expand increasingly. The origins of the United States shows the attitude of “us versus them”, where Mexico’s top officials and administration were seen as incompetent and trickled down to its

At the same time they attempted to sway Mexico into a alliance with them in case the United States declared war on Germany. The "Zimmerman Telegram" was intercepted by Allied forces and given to President Wilson. Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany on April 2, 1917. While Germany had done nothing to threaten our U.S. security, Wilson said in his speech that we would enter the war "to make the world safe for democracy". (Zieger, 53) A point that later spurn the effectiveness of Wilson's influence over peace was that America entered the war as an "associated power" rather than a true Ally.

As Texans began demanding freedom, they deciding to away from Mexico, causing tensions between the United States and Mexico. In 1845, tensions began to lead to threats between the two countries when the United States decided to annex Texas into their country and ultimately led to the Mexican-American war. The U.S. was not justified in going to war with Mexico. A reason is that James K. Polk, president at the time, decided to send American soldiers onto disputed territory which Mexico thought was theirs. Doc C is an article written by Jesus Velasco-Marquez discussing the Mexicans viewpoint on the war with the United States in 1846. According to Doc C,¨In the eyes of the Mexican government, the mobilization of the US army was an outright attack

President Polk wanted to bring in California and New Mexico into the Union. Polk wanted to go to war, but did not want to be the start of the war so decided to anger Mexico into starting a war so that he would not be blamed. During the Mexico and American war, Mexican troops attacked Taylor's troops killing nine Americans. The United States forces were far more superior than the Mexican forces, they could easily take areas such as what is known as New Mexico today. Mexico refused to surrender in the United States had to invade

“President James Polk had ordered an efficient military force to take a position in the northern territory of the Rio Grande river”(Doc B, Par1). This movement was unnecessary; making Mexico think this was an outright attack. Military units are not just sent near a border, especially when that country wants the land. The attack from America led to their own loss, losing 16 men. Mexico was only defending the proper border of Texas(Doc B). America was insightful of the correct set border; basically killing their own soldiers in an unnecessary

My first reason of why they did not have proper reasoning into going to war with Mexico is that they stole land from them. John L. O`Sullivan quotes, “California, will, probably, next, fall away from Mexico.”(Doc.A) Charlie Summer, Massachusetts state legislature, also quotes,”At this period,citizens of the U.S. had already begun to[move] into Texas. The idea was, that this extensive province ought to become a part of the United States.”(Doc.D). The evidence that I have found for this argument shows the

Dr. Henderson’s purpose for writing A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States is to explain the causes of Mexico going to war with the United States in 1846, and the reasons Mexico suffered severely from it. Dr. Henderson’s focus throughout the book is not solely on the military tactics, but rather on the political and diplomatic maneuvering. This approach to the book is to provide to the reader the conflict’s real significance, as to the how and why the United States and Mexico went to war. This book does not point blame at either side, but tells the war from the Mexican point of view. Furthermore, Dr. Henderson explores Mexico’s weaknesses at the time and how those weaknesses led to the war with the United States.

The U.S.-Mexican War was a violent and shattering event for Mexican citizens that lasted from 1846-1848 in what is now the state of Texas. It drastically altered the course of Mexican and American history for years to come. It occurred because of the unsettled disputes about the borders of newly annexed Texas. Once the debilitating battle ended, the United States emerged a world power having acquired more than 500,000 square miles of valuable territory. There are many potentially feasible explanations on the cause of the war; including, fault laying with American slaveholders for conquest of Mexico, the war as an American plot and responsibility lying with President Polk of the United States. However, this paper focuses on the three

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson wrote and spoke one of his famous speech: War Message. President Wilson wants to ensure the people 's hope and faith from the war. As President Wilson (1917) stated in his speech "Each nation must decide for itself how it will meet it... Our motive will not be revenge or the victorious assertion of the physical might of the nation, but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion."was to fix the issue the nation was in. President Wilson wants to show the people that we need to get involved war for the loss of many American lives that Germany took. Wilson persuades to Congress to go to war. President Wilson shows his persuasion effectively by using rhetorical strategies. Each strategy he used gave more persuasion to Congress to declare war on Germany. All the persuasion he used to convince Congress was put in his famous speech War Message.

The Mexican-American war was a conventional conflict battled y traditional armies made up of cavalry and artillery that were mostly European war tactics. The American’s managed to penetrate Mexican land which resorted to using guerrilla warfare as a defence strategy when the Americans penetrated their territory. After the hostilities began, the U.S. military embarked on a three-pronged tactic that was designed to capture Northern Mexico forcing them to retaliate. Two groups of American militaries went to southern Texas, and the third troop led by Colonel Kearny embarked to the western region-New Mexico. General Zachary’s army defeated the Mexican military after a series of battles in De Palma necessitating them to move to the south to gain more victory over the Mexicans. The seizure of Monterey and Los Angeles by the U.S. Navy granted them a second victory. A three-day

By January 1917 representatives from the German navy convinced the military leadership and Kaiser Wilhelm II that a resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare could help defeat Great Britain within five months. German policymakers argued that they could violate the “Sussex pledge” because the United States was not being neutral (Office of the Historian). In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Mexico, offering United States’ territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause (Childress). Accordingly, on January 31, 1917, the German Ambassador, Count Johann von Bernstorff, presented U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing with a note declaring Germany’s intention to restart unrestricted submarine warfare the following day. Stunned by the news, President Wilson went before Congress on February 3 to announce that he had severed diplomatic relations with Germany (Office of the Historian). Throughout February and March 1917, German submarines targeted and sunk several American ships, and many American passengers and seamen died (Office of the Historian). On February 26, Wilson asked Congress for authority to arm American merchant ships with U.S. naval personnel and equipment.