The Zimmermann Telegram

Students explore the reasons the United States became involved in World War I.  For this World History lesson, students research the reasons Woodrow Wilson made the decisions he did, prepare a debate and write a paper.

President Woodrow Wilson tried to maintain American neutrality in World War I. Find out why he decided that the U.S. needed to join the war and read a portion of his message to Congress asking for a declaration of war against Germany....

The US is teetering on the brink of joining WWI when they intercept a telegram from Germany to Mexico which serves as the final straw in their neutrality. This video shows the actual telegram and discusses the background of the...

Discusses the Zimmermann telegram that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War I. [4:10]

This is an excellent resource for anyone intersted in the Zimmermann Telegram: click to see the original coded message, the decoded message, and read about the implications of the telegram. This National Archives and Records...

Comprehensive overview details how the Zimmermann telegram helped to bring about American entry into WW1.

A video investigating a proposal made to Mexico from Germany to enter an alliance with them during World War I. This proposal was intercepted by British intelligence and helped pull the United States into the war. [4:10]

Text of the Zimmerman Note to the German Ambassador to Mexico in 1917.

The study resource from Khan Academy provides a video lesson about the Zimmerman Telegram: Period 7: 1890-1945 in American History. This resource is designed as a review for the AP US History Test.

Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...