Zimerman Notes

Note Taken!

An Analysis of The Zimmerman Telegram

As late as January 22, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson acted as a peace maker vying to bring the war in Europe to a close through agreement rather than by force, for fear that a militant ending and settlement would not last. In February, as a result of two actions of the German government, the desire of the people and government of the United States to remain neutral dissolved rapidly. These events were the resumption of Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare and the discovery of the Zimmermann Telegram and its contents. Unrestricted submarine warfare meant that any ships, whether enemy mobilization carriers or neutral merchant ships, caught within the area Germany defined as "blockade zones" was to be stopped "with every available weapon and without further notice." The Zimmerman Telegram proposed that Mexico form an alliance with Japan and join the Central Powers against The United States if the U. S. entered the war to aid the Allied Powers. In return, the Germans would help Mexico reconquer territory lost within the States. The U.S. government was enraged and felt betrayed in their quest for peace, while the public turned from a desire for neutrality and urged for the first time that the U.S. enter the war. This new attitude of the public supported President Wilson and drove the United States first to a state of armed neutrality and eventually into the World War.

To better understand why the contents of the Zimmerman Telegram had such a strong effect on the United States, a brief summary of early 20th Century relations between the U. S., Japan, and Mexico is necessary. In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, astonished by Japan's defeat of China in battle, expressed to the world his expectation of Japan rising in the near future into a leading world power, declaring their presence as the "Yellow Peril." Following the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Japanese continued to promote their expansion. Europe considered a clash between Japan and the United States inevitable; these two newly powerful nations, both showing the desire for imperialism, were doomed for collision. With the changes in trade and trade regulation approaching as the United States constructed the Panama Canal, the confrontation seemed near. The Kaiser was pleased by his prediction of the "Yellow Peril" and waited hopefully for the hostilities to break. Having a desire to be involved in the conflict, the Kaiser, in January of 1908, revealed to American Ambassador Charlemagne Tower, that ten thousand Japanese soldiers were within Mexican borders preparing to seize the Panama Canal. Ile U.S. did not respond. Wilhelm fostered the conflict by releasing his information in an interview on October 28, 1908 with the London Daily Telegraph. The public of both the United States and of Europe was shaken hard by the news of the coalition between Mexico and Japan.

In February of 1911, German spy Horst von der Goltz was ordered to steal the draft of the secret treaty between Mexico and Japan. The document was then copied and sent to the United States government. Shortly afterward, two-thirds of the U.S. troops were mobilized to the Mexican border. The nation was fearful that a conflict was forthcoming. All allegations by the Kaiser, however, were dispelled by the U. S. government as fraudulent. Whether the events reported by Germany were actual or fictitious has yet to be resolved, but they were successful in creating a great deal of tension between the nations involved. An alliance between Mexico and Japan against the U. S. was indeed possible.

With the storming of Veracruz, the threat of large scale confrontation continued to intensify as the United States intervened in the political turmoil of Mexico. Hostilities between Japan and the U. S. likewise increased as the result of legal restrictions put on the freedoms of Japanese citizens within the States. As a result of these incidents, the American public felt threatened by a possible Mexican/Japanese alliance and aggression toward the States.

Germany continued to create disorder within Mexico, especially once the European War had begun. By keeping the political situation within Mexico in turmoil, Germany ensured the U.S. focus of attention to remain on the border to its south. Germany was certain that the U.S. would eventually be forced to intervene in the internal Mexican affairs; such an intervention would have reduced the amount of munition available for the U.S. to send to the Allied Forces. Continued relations between the German government and that of Mexico gave Under-Secretary Arthur Zimmermann of Germany the notion to plan for a military alliance between the nations. Using the territories lost by Mexico to the United States, he schemed to lure President Carranza of Mexico into an agreement pledging Mexican military action against the U.S. if they entered the war against Germany. Zimmermann believed in such instance, Mexico would attempt to gain the assistance of Japan by offering an invasion base within Mexican borders. Japan could not refuse such an inviting offer to expand control over the Pacific by gaining territory on the West Coast of North America. The defense from such a Mexican/Japanese alliance was to prevent the United States from opposing the Germans with full strength. The Germans did not however believe that Mexico could be successful in such a campaign, but they would stall the movement of the States against the Central Powers long enough to conclude Germany's defeat of the European Allied Powers. Such plans to keep America out of Europe may have been the actions that brought about Zimmermann's promotion to Foreign Minister on November 22, 1916. On January 17, 1917, Zimmermann sent these plans in a telegram to Herr von Eckhardt, the German Minister at Mexico City, as follows:

BERLIN, January 19, 1917.

On the 1st of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavor to keep neutral the United States of America.

If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. 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