Zimmerman Telegram

When President Wilson sought to enter the war, however, his objectives went beyond the defense of U.S. maritime interests. In his War Message to Congress, he stated that the U.S. objective was “to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world.” The U.S. Senate voted On April 4, 1917, in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. Two days later the House concurred. [5]

On January 9th, 1917 a message was sent from Germany to the German minister in Mexico. This message, later to be known as the Zimmermann Telegram was the final piece to a German plot to embroil the United States into a war with Mexico, Japan or both in order to cripple Allied supply lines fueling Allied operations in Europe.

WWI started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. At the time a man named Woodrow Wilson was president at the time. President Wilson did not want to go to war. In DBQ 16: Why Did We Enter World War I?-Historical Context by J. Weston Walch, it says “People were determined to keep out of the conflict and applaud president Wilson when he asked that his fellow citizens remain “neutral in fact as well as in name.””Then Germany started unrestricted warfare and a telegram was intercepted saying that a few of our states were going to be given to mexico if they helped germany attack the U.S. These are the main reasons why the U.S should join WWI.

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

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.

America had no intention of entering WWI as President Woodrow Wilson had declared their policy of neutrality in 1914 after the continent of Europe had erupted in conflict. President Wilson aimed to deal with all participants in the war in a fair way that did not show signs of allegiance to either side as he tried to help find a way towards peaceful resolution. Happenings in Europe soon changed Wilson’s view of neutrality. Many American lives had been lost at sea after the sinking of the Lusitania and other ships due to Germany’s unrestricted submarine attacks. Germany refused to alter their methods which forced Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war in 1917.

The American decision to declare war on Germany was influenced by several factors of varying degrees. To a great extent, the aggressive German naval policy contributed to the involvement of the United States in World War I. A secondary influence on this decision derived from U.S. economic interests abroad and on the homefront. Another influence leading to America’s entrance into war was the use of Allied propaganda. Therefore, the combination of German naval policy, American economic interests, and allied propaganda influenced to the American decision

For example in Document B it also asserts that, “We shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts- for democracy, for the right of [people] to have a voice in their own government, for the rights and liberties of small nations.” The U.S. had decided they needed to join the war to make sure that the world was safe enough to have a stable democracy running and to protect the rights of people and nations. Moving on, the last reason why the U.S. joined the war was because of the Zimmermann Note, which was a telegram from the Germans to Mexico but was intercepted by the British. In McDougal’s “ The Americans Reconstruction to the 21st Century” it states, “The telegram proposed an alliance between Mexico and Germany and promised that if war with the United States broke out, Germany would support Mexico in recovering lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.”(pg.379). The U.S. had no other choice but to join because Germany was getting involved in their affairs and was trying to get Mexico to help them launch an attack on the U.S. This was a huge threat that had to be dealt

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.

World War I began in 1914 but America remained neutral until its entrance into the war in 1917. The U-boats sinking of the British liner Lusitania in 1915, the sinking of five American ships in 1917, and the “Zimmerman telegram” sent from Germany to Mexico led up to America’s declaration of war. America’s involvement in World War I not only impacted the war front but also the home front.

The Mexican American War was mainly driven by the idea of “Manifest Destiny”; the belief that the U.S had a God-given right to occupy and civilize the whole continent. As increasingly large number of Americans migrated towards the west in search of land, the fact that most of those areas already had people living in them was ignored. Instead, an attitude and belief that democratic English-speaking America would do a better job of running the lands than the Native Americans or Spanish-speaking Catholic Mexicans prevailed. President Polk shared and led the vision of Manifest Destiny, and did offer to buy much of the southwest land from Mexico. However the Mexican government refused the offer, and an unyeilding desire to populate those southwestern lands caused tensions to continue to rise.

Germany was trying to overtake the world. US could not let this happen. In the telegram, Zimmermann stated that in the event of war with the United States, Mexico should be asked to enter the conflict as a German ally. In return, Germany would promise to restore to Mexico the lost territories of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. On March 1, the U.S. State Department published the note and America was against Germany instantly. US was officially against Germany in late March. Germany sank four more U.S. merchant ships. On April 2, President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted 82 to six to declare war against Germany. Two days later, the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration by a vote of 373 to 50 and America formally entered World War

During this war there were petitions made to James K. Polk to end the war in Mexico. He was given reasons on why to stop war. They were favorable reasons for both countries. It was very expensive to continue with the war and it would have not killed many innocents if the United States would have withdrawn its troops. The United States knew it was stronger than the Mexican troops and still didn’t want to leave until they obtained what they came for. We could have negotiated a different way. It was probably the

When the First World War erupted in Europe on July 28, 1914; President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaimed that the United States would remain neutral on August 4, 1914. However, the United States did not stick to this proclamation, and eventually became involved in the war efforts. This investigation aims to evaluate the reasons the United States violated their neutrality in order to join the war. In inquiring into the reasons of the United States’ entry into the war, the Zimmermann telegram will be assessed. Primary sources, Message to Congress., 2d Sess., Senate Doc and War Messages, 65th Cong., 1st Sess. Senate Doc. No. 5 by Woodrow Wilson will also be assessed. Online sources, for example

Prior to the events of March 1, 1917, the United States of America considered itself as a neutral country in the Great War, later to be known as World War I; but, views would be changed in January of 1917 after British intelligence intercepted the Zimmermann Telegram. The Zimmermann Telegram was a message created by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann directed to Count Johann von Bernstorff, the Ambassador in Mexico. The contents within the message proposed to Mexico an alliance with Germany and financial aid if Mexico agreed to enter any possible future United States conflict with Germany. In addition to these propositions, Germany promised to give Mexico back the southwestern states they had lost after the events of the Mexican-American