Telegram from Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk to the American Embassy in Mexico City
2/26/1917
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
Add only page 1 to activity:
Add only page 2 to activity:
This message summarized the Zimmermann Telegram and predicted the sensation it would cause when released to the American public.
In January 1917, British cryptographers had 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 Zimmermann telegram to Wilson, and news of the telegram was published widely in the American press on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies. The Zimmermann telegram clearly had helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history.
In January 1917, British cryptographers had 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 Zimmermann telegram to Wilson, and news of the telegram was published widely in the American press on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies. The Zimmermann telegram clearly had helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the Department of State.
National Archives Identifier: 302023
Full Citation: Telegram from Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk to the American Embassy in Mexico City; 2/26/1917; 862.20212 / 57 through 862.20212 / 311; Central Decimal Files, 1910 - 1963; General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/telegram-american-embassy, April 19, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.