This telegram, written by German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann, is a coded message sent to Mexico, proposing a military alliance against the United States. The obvious threats to the United States contained in the telegram inflamed American public opinion against Germany and helped convince Congress to declare war against Germany in 1917.
Between 1914 and the spring of 1917, the European nations engaged in a conflict that became known as World War I. While armies battled in Europe, the United States remained neutral. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was elected President for a second term, largely because of the slogan “He kept us out of war.” Events in early 1917 would change that hope.
In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. To protect their intelligence from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States, the British waited to present the telegram to President Wilson. Meanwhile, frustration over the effective British naval blockade caused Germany to break its pledge to limit submarine warfare. In response, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany in February.
On February 24 Britain released the Zimmerman telegram to Wilson, and news of the telegram was published widely in the American press on March 1. The telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, “No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences.” It is his opinion that “never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message.” On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies. The Zimmerman telegram clearly had helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:56 am
You take the pictures, I’ll handle the war.
If you know what I mean.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:10 am
I don’t believe it was ever intercepted.
I know the facts of the Note and I understand that the contents of the Note are a little sketchy, very hard to believe.
The Zimmerman note supposedly declared that, if Mexico declared war on the US and beat them (with the help of Germany?), Mexico would get the land back that they lost to the US during a war.
Mexico? Fight? That’s the part that’s hard to fathom. And so I look to the government at that time…
The British intercepted the note! The British were fighting and wanted extra reinforcements. At the time, were the British losing? I don’t remember that, but even if they weren’t, they probably saw extra help as a good thing. Trench warfare got nowhere, so why not call in an old friend to have more players on our side.
And the US wouldn’t join, so why not make a threat, to make sure they join on our side?
Voila, the Zimmerman Note.
Sure, it’s just a theory shared by me and others, but the story history tells just doesn’t make sense (Like JFK’s assassination by a single man.) So, it wasn’t intercepted. It was created.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I think the more proper question was “Why was the Zimmerman telegram leaked to President Wilson and to the US public?” The British intercepted it simply because they were at war and they had the means to do so.
Why did they leak it? Simply put, they recognized the effect it would have on US public opinion, and that it would likely help to draw the US into the war. By itself, it probably wouldn’t have, but growing American unrest with Germany’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare, and the sinking of many US ships, combined with the Zimmerman telegram, had the desired effect.
BTW - contrary to the conspiracy theorist above (Mandi) - the telegram WAS authentic. Zimmerman himself admitted its authenticity on March 3, 1917 - since he was the person who sent it, it stands to reason that he’d know.
September 17th, 2009 at 2:46 am
Maybe the real question should be why was the message intercepted and deciphered by the British on January 19th 1917 but not revealed to America until February 24th 1917.
A strategic move on the part of Great Britain,withholding this information was all a part of British bid for America to join the allied war effort.
Germany reneged on it’s policy of not practicing unrestricted submarine warfare on January 31st.
On February 3rd 1917 the U.S.broke all diplomatic ties with Germany as a result of this.
The suspension of unrestricted submarine warfare was a huge factor in keeping America neutral.Something Germany very much desired.
America was on the verge of declaring war on Germany and Great Britain had an ace up it’s sleeve.Or should I say a straw,a straw that would break the camels back.
So the question is not “Why did they intercept it?” this is obvious,but “Why did they withhold it for nearly a month?”.
Germany sought to distract the U.S. form entering WWI by trying to involve it in a conflict with Mexico a country that was not on good terms with America at the time anyway.