The coded Zimmerman telegram - click on the image for a translation

The Zimmerman telegram, a message from Germany to the German ambassador in the United States was intercepted and its contents revealed to the public. Germany was urging an alliance with Mexico, and promising them the return of the southwestern United States if they would fight the United States with them. This outraged American public opinion and pushed the United States closer to war.

Part of The Great War: a HistoryWiz exhibit