The Zimmermann Telegram was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire for Mexico to join the Central Powers, in the event of the United States entering World War I on the side of the Entente Powers. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany.
But the Government knew spies might read the papers. A law was passed to stop newspapers from printing information which could help the enemy or make British people feel unhappy about the war. 1 of 3.
At the very beginning of WW1, Woodrow Wilson, who was the President of the United States at the time, declared his country’s neutrality in the War, supported by the majority of the American people. At the same time, the United States’ most important trade partner, Great Britain, had been harassed by Germany: the latter tried to isolate Britain from its allies and trade partners.
After the Civil War, the south was no longer able to secede (Olsen, 2002), and, therefore, had to surrender to the central government for administration. Secondly, the Civil War enabled the government of the United States to abolish slavery, to which the south had been holding for centuries (Chambers, 1999).
Although the U.S. tried to remain neutral when WW1 broke out, it finally joined on April 6, 1917 after declaring war on Germany. The reason for America to become involved in WW1 was Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare, which had already sunk several American merchant ships.
The First World War took place from the 28 July 1914 to the 11 November 1918. An estimated twenty million people died. It was a global war fought between the Allies (the French Empire, the British Empire, the Russian Empire, the United States of America and others) and the Central Powers (the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire).
April 6, 1917, the United States congress voted proclaimed war on the side of the Allies. On April 2, President Wilson had appeared before Congress and stated, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Wilson, 1917) He then asked congress to declare war on Germany. A declaration of war was the response from Congress.
The historian Edmund Russell, one of the great experts of US technological change during the War, has pointed out how the federal government gained extraordinary influence over the American.