But without evidence of expanded German hostilities, Wilson and the Americans remained neutral, at least in the short-term. President Wilson broke off diplomatic relations on February 3, 1917, after German submarine attacks resumed. But its existence became a turning point in the debate over intervention, and it did lead to solidarity between the President and Congress over “the war to end all wars.” To be sure, the Zimmermann telegram by itself didn’t force the United States’ entry into World War I that would come five weeks after the telegram was made public, when the Senate and the House passed war resolutions. The Germans would offer “generous financial support” to Mexico as an ally, with the following proposal, “an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.” Zimmermann also said Germany planned to start unrestricted submarine warfare on February 1, an act that could force the Americans toward a conflict with Germany. In the message, Zimmermann instructed the German diplomats to approach the Mexican government, if United States entered the war in Europe, to offer an alliance between Germany and Mexico. The Zimmermann Telegram was a message sent on January 12, 1917, from the German foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman to the country’s embassy in Washington, D.C., to be relayed to German representatives in Mexico. And current research shows the Americans didn’t know everything German diplomats intended. On this day in 1917, President Woodrow Wilson learned of a shocking piece of paper that made America’s entry into World War I inevitable.
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