what was the zimmerman note quizlet

The British knew that since the German embassy in Washington would relay the message by commercial telegraph, the Mexican telegraph office would have the coded text. This privilege was supposed to be used for messages connected with Wilson's peace proposals. Arthur Zimmermann had succeeded Gottlieb von Jagow as Germanys secretary of state for foreign affairs in November 1916. In return for this assistance, the Germans asked for Mexican support in the war. The Zimmerman Telegram was a diplomatic communication (done in secret) that came from the German Foreign office in January of 1917 and suggested that there be a military alliance between Mexico and Germany if the United States entered the Great War. 2 What happened to the telegram Zimmerman sent? Wilson viewed the war as an opportunity to destroy German militarism. These places were Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. How did the Zimmermann Telegram help push the United States into World War I quizlet? In order to conceal the original source of the document, the British foreign office got its hands on a second copy of the Zimmermann Telegram from when it had been transmitted between Washington, D.C. and Mexico City. How long does it take to travel 300 kilometers? "[38], In 2006 there were six "closed" files on the Zimmermann Telegram which had not been declassified held by the National Archives at Kew (formerly the PRO). British cryptographers cracked a telegraph from the German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to Heinrich von Eckhardt, the German Minister to Mexico, in January 1917, offering Mexico territory in the United States in exchange for Mexico's support for the German cause. Zimmermanns coded message was thus transmitted through the American embassy in Berlin before passing though London and finally arriving at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. The Germans handed in messages to the American embassy in Berlin, which were relayed to the embassy in Denmark and then to the United States by American telegraph operators. One popular political cartoon even depicted a copy of the Zimmermann Telegram literally blowing up in the face of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Your email address will not be published. [21], After the Germans' telegraph cables had been cut, the German Foreign Office appealed to the United States for use of their diplomatic telegraphic messages for peace messages. Diplomatic relations between Germany and the United States had already been severed in early February when Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare and began preying on U.S. vessels in the Atlantic. It is true." In January 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. He delivered a ringing war message before that body on that date, saying that America would be privileged to give her blood and treasure to make the world safe for democracy. Zimmermanns proposal seemed outrageous on its face, but Mexico had encouraged the German overture, as Mexican relations with the United States had deteriorated rapidly after Wilsons grant of de facto recognition to Venustiano Carranzas revolutionary government in October 1915. Corrections? 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, DocsTeach: Our Online Tool for Teaching with Documents, Education Programs at Presidential Libraries. [21], On February 19, Hall showed the telegram to Edward Bell, the secretary of the American Embassy in Britain. It also said that Germany would aid Mexico in regaining land that they lost to the US such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The decoded telegram was as follows:[1].mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}^, We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. From there, it was transmitted to London and then to the German embassy in Washington, D.C. By January 19, Eckardt had received it in Mexico City. Zimmermann Telegram, also called Zimmermann Note, coded telegram sent January 16, 1917, by German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German minister in Mexico. What did Zimmermann propose if the United States went to war with Germany during World War I quizlet? We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. Other foreign relations were at stake. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. Stream World War I videos commercial-free in HISTORY Vault. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. American neutrality was preserved only by the adoption of the so-called Sussex pledge (May 4, 1916), which obliged German submarine captains to precede the torpedoing of merchant or passenger ships with a warning and to provide for the safety of passengers and crew of sunken ships in the wake of such attacks. It instructed Eckhardt to propose a Mexican-German alliance should the United States enter the war. What was the impact of the Zimmerman telegram? Zimmermanns alliance proposal did reach the desk of Mexican President Carranza, but it was officially rejected once a military commission determined that there would be no benefit in accepting it. Unbeknownst to Zimmermann, his message had been intercepted along the way and decoded by the British Admiralty Intelligence, and its contents were communicated to Wilson. [31], Wilson considered another military invasion of Veracruz and Tampico in 19171918,[32][33] to pacify the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Tampico oil fields and to ensure their continued production during the civil war,[33][34] but this time, Mexican President Venustiano Carranza, recently installed, threatened to destroy the oil fields if the US Marines landed there. That belief, which was not restricted to pacifist and pro-German lobbies, was promoted by German and Mexican diplomats alongside some antiwar American newspapers, especially those of the Hearst press empire. [16] The generals concluded that such a war was unwinnable for the following reasons: The Carranza government was recognized de jure by the United States on August 31, 1917, as a direct consequence of the Zimmermann Telegram to ensure Mexican neutrality during World War I. The details are left to you for settlement. You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan. a coded piece of information sent to the Mexicans from the Germans about getting U.S. land back. We strive for accuracy and fairness. The president wavered over the issue for several weeks, but on April 2, 1917, he appeared before Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany. Why did Americans find the Zimmermann note so threatening? By late February, news of the communiqu had reached Woodrow Wilson. This announcement helped precipitate American entry into the conflict. Bell was at first incredulous and thought that it was a forgery. The Zimmerman Note and German attacks on three U.S. ships in mid-March led Wilson to ask Congress for a declaration of war. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The Germans persuaded US Ambassador James W. Gerard to accept it in coded form, and it was transmitted on January 16, 1917. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The United States had considered itself the dominant power in North and South America since the Age of Imperialism. The thing long dreaded has come, the Los Angeles Times wrote. The telegram said that if Germany went to war with the United States, Germany promised to help Mexico recover the territory it had lost during the 1840s, including Texas, New Mexico, California, and Arizona. Since many of the secret documents in this incident had been destroyed, it had previously been assumed that the original typed "decrypt" was gone forever. The Wilson administration was thus presented with a dilemma. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Hall had become adept at operations to influence opinion in the United States, and he used his expertise to the hilt in the way that he chose to disclose the telegram, Boghardt writes. It revealed Germanys plan to form an alliance with Mexico. Room 40 had obtained German cryptographic documents, including the diplomatic code 3512 (captured during the Mesopotamian campaign), which was a later updated code that was similar to but not really related to code 13040, and naval code SKM (Signalbuch der Kaiserlichen Marine),which was useless for decoding the Zimmermann Telegram but valuable to decode naval traffic, which had been retrieved from the wrecked cruiser SMS Magdeburg by the Russians, who passed it to the British. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. US too strong, Germany could not be trusted, could not buy weapons from US, could not handle US citizens, strain on relationships with other nations, Why did Mexico reject Germany's proposal? The government later released a statement that Japan was not interested in changing sides and in attacking America. With Germany's aid, Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. If the United States declared war on Germany, the strategy in the note was to resume unlimited submarine warfare and build an alliance . Germanys resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation behind Wilsons decision to lead the United States into World War I. The telegram reached the German embassy in Washington on January 19, and it was transmitted to Eckhardt in Mexico later that day. Later that day Wilson signed a resolution recognizing that a state of war existed between the United States and the German Empire. Jagow had resigned in protest over the proposed resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, and Zimmermann, who was seen as amenable to the policy, was selected to replace him. Why did Germany want to keep the United States out of the war? Recognizing its strategic value, he immediately strode into the office of Room 40s chief, Captain William Reginald Blinker Hall, and asked him a question: Do you want to bring America into the war?, Protocol demanded that Room 40 immediately share its intelligence with the British foreign office, but Captain Hall chose to keep the Zimmermann Telegram under wraps for several weeks. As Historian Thomas Boghardt notes in his book The Zimmermann Telegram, releasing the letter would have not only revealed to the Germans that their codes were broken, it would have also tipped off the Americans that the British were snooping on their diplomatic communications. German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sent a coded message to the German minister in Mexico on January 16, 1917, which is also known as the Zimmermann Telegram or Zimmermann Note. On April 2, President Wilson, who had initially sought a peaceful resolution to World War I, urged immediate U.S. entrance into the war. Germans believed they couldnt win, there was mutiny in the army and navy, there were revolts and civilians declared Germany to be a republic, there was about to be a revolution, and the Allies were ready to invade them, so they surrendered to save their country. What was the purpose of the Zimmermann telegram quizlet? We are virtually at war today. The furor only increased on March 3, when Arthur Zimmermann admitted that he had written the telegram. The message was intercepted by the British and passed on to the United States; its publication caused outrage and contributed to the U.S. entry into World War I. During his address, he cited the Zimmermann Telegram as evidence that the Germans had attempted to stir up enemies against us at our very doors.. [9], The German provocations were partially successful. Mexicans had a considerable amount of anti-American sentiment in return, some of which was caused by the American occupation of Veracruz. [35][36], The Japanese government, another nation mentioned in the Zimmerman Telegram, was already involved in World War I, on the side of the Allies against Germany. Receipt from London of the text of the Zimmermann telegram on February 24, 1917, did not prompt Wilsons decision for armed neutrality, but it did cause him to lose all faith in the German government. Then, on March 29, 1917, Zimmermann gave a speech in the Reichstag in which he admitted that the telegram was genuine. Isolationist sentiment remained highPresident Woodrow Wilson had only recently won reelection using the slogan He Kept Us Out of Warbut the sinking of the ocean liner RMS Lusitania and other submarine attacks in the Atlantic had helped rally pro-war factions. Updates? Updated: March 28, 2023 | Original: March 1, 2017. Therefore, the message was sent from Copenhagen to a relay station on the westernmost point of England, where it was intercepted by the Room 40 codebreakers. What did Germany promise Mexico in the Zimmermann telegram? While most agree that it helped turn public opinion against Germany, they also argue that the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare had already sounded the death knell of American neutrality. The Zimmerman Telegram was part of an effort carried out by the Germans to postpone the transportation of supplies and other war materials from the United States to the Allies, which were at war against Germany. From the time that the telegram was publishedthe United States entry into the war was assured.. The British cryptographic office known as Room 40 decoded the Zimmermann Telegram and handed it over to the United States in late-February 1917. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace.Signed, ZIMMERMANN. [5] The Germans had aided in arming Mexico, as shown by the 1914 Ypiranga Incident. The United States spent the first two-and-a-half years of World War I watching from the sidelines, yet by early 1917, American involvement in the conflict was looking increasingly likely. The decoded telegram was as follows: We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. With the evidence the United States had been provided confidentially by the British, Wilson realized the message was genuine, but he could not make the evidence public without compromising the British codebreaking operation. By March 1, its scandalous contents were splashed on the front pages of newspapers nationwide. The message was sent to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Explanation: The Telegram wrote that if the United States entered World War I, Mexico would regain Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Many commentators at the time expressed astonishment that the Germans could have made such a serious misstep. What was the US response to the Zimmerman note? Since there had been ample time for Room 40 to reconstruct the code cryptanalytically, it was readable to a fair degree. Because the British had severed the direct undersea telegraph links between Germany and North America in the earliest days of the war, Germany was forced to route sensitive diplomatic traffic through neutral countries. Meanwhile, the British discussed possible cover stories to explain to the Americans how they obtained the coded text of the telegram and to explain how they obtained the cleartext of the telegram without letting anyone know that the codes had been broken. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Allied forces borrowed over 2 billion from U.S. . On January 17two days before the telegram arrived in Washingtona British cryptanalyst named Nigel de Grey decoded the note. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Wilson decided to enter the war so that he could help design the peace settlement. On January 16, 1917, British code breakers intercepted an encrypted message from Zimmermann intended for Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador to Mexico. Oblivious to its content, he dutifully wired it to . The Swedish diplomatic message holding the Zimmerman Telegram went from Stockholm to Buenos Aires over British submarine telegraph cables, and then moved from Buenos Aires to Mexico over the cable network of a United States company. zimmerman note. The Zimmermann telegram was a coded note sent by Germany's Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmermann, in January 1917 with a message for the Mexican government. According to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, when the president was told of it scandalous contents, he repeatedly exclaimed the words Good Lord!. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. The zimmerman telegraph was actually the Zimmerman Telegram. Supported by his cabinet, by most newspapers, and by a large segment of public opinion, Wilson made the decision for war on March 20, and the following day he called Congress to meet in special session on April 2. Germany had been left with no private communications link between Berlin and North America, but in the interest of promoting peace, the neutral United States had agreed to send encrypted German messages in exchange for a promise that they only contained run-of-the-mill diplomatic instructions. President Wilson agreed in the belief both that such co-operation would sustain continued good relations with Germany and that more efficient German-American diplomacy could assist Wilson's goal of a negotiated end to the war. [29] Zimmermann hoped that Americans would understand that the idea was that Germany would not fund Mexico's war with the United States unless the Americans joined World War I. Postal Service introduced an expanded Zimmerman ZIP code system that it called ZIP+4, often called plus-four codes, add-on codes, or add ons. A German note to the Mexican Government from Germanys Foreign Minister, Alfred Zimmerman, asking Mexico to ally with Germany in a war against the US. | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms Conditions... The Age of Imperialism March 3, when arthur Zimmermann admitted that the persuaded. In spite of this to keep the United States out of the press! 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