The Zimmermann Telegram was a coded message from Germany to which country proposing a military alliance against the United States?

The Zimmermann Telegram was a coded message from Germany to which country proposing a military alliance against the United States?

• A. A cease-fire instruction between Germany and Britain
• B. A coded German message to Mexico proposing a military alliance against the United States
• C. A treaty establishing trade with Japan
• D. A diplomatic note from the U.S. to France

Answer: (B)

This item centers on wartime diplomacy and how intelligence shaped U.S. involvement in World War I. Germany sent a coded telegram to Mexico proposing a military alliance against the United States, promising to support Mexico in recovering lands it had lost to the U.S. (such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) if Mexico joined the Central Powers. The idea was to deter U.S. entry by dragging its southern neighbor into conflict. The telegram’s interception and public revelation helped turn American opinion toward entering the war, since it exposed a direct German plan to threaten the United States and pull its neighbors into a continental war. The other descriptions don’t fit this event: it wasn’t a cease-fire instruction to Britain, a trade treaty with Japan, or a diplomatic note from the U.S. to France.

This item centers on wartime diplomacy and how intelligence shaped U.S. involvement in World War I. Germany sent a coded telegram to Mexico proposing a military alliance against the United States, promising to support Mexico in recovering lands it had lost to the U.S. (such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) if Mexico joined the Central Powers. The idea was to deter U.S. entry by dragging its southern neighbor into conflict.

The telegram’s interception and public revelation helped turn American opinion toward entering the war, since it exposed a direct German plan to threaten the United States and pull its neighbors into a continental war. The other descriptions don’t fit this event: it wasn’t a cease-fire instruction to Britain, a trade treaty with Japan, or a diplomatic note from the U.S. to France.