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VideoLink lets you share videos on YouTube easily, without distracting third-party content or advertisements.

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What are the 4 MAIN causes of World War I?

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VideoLink lets you share videos on YouTube easily, without distracting third-party content or advertisements.

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2. How did the single event described in this clip set off World War I?

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2. How did the single event described in this clip set off World War I?

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The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Cartoon

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VideoLink lets you share videos on YouTube easily, without distracting third-party content or advertisements.

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3. Which alliance do you think has the advantage in the war?

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3. Which alliance do you think has the advantage in the war?

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-- Post a gif that shows how you would feel being in the trenches

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This re-creation of a First World War trench was built by military historian Andy Robertshaw to show what life was like for the soldiers.

Read more about The Trenches and the experiences of the soldiers there.

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This re-creation of a First World War trench was built by military historian Andy Robertshaw to show what life was like for the soldiers. Read more about The Trenches and the experiences of the soldiers there.

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5. What types of weapons were used by sea? By air? On land?

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5. What types of weapons were used by sea? By air? On land?

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World War One was a time of fast change. Creative minds and great engineers worked together to develop new technology.

Some of these inventions became essential to life in the 20th Century.

Personal cameras, telephones and radios are used by people even today.

Sadly a lot of the new technology was focused only towards making more powerful, deadlier weapons to fight the war.

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World War One was a time of fast change. Creative minds and great engineers worked together to develop new technology. Some of these inventions became essential to life in the 20th Century. Personal cameras, telephones and radios are used by people even today.

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Directions: The Zimmerman Telegram was a hugely impactful message that changed the course of World War 1 and world history. Learn more about it by clicking on the link below, then comment on who sent it, who it was to, and the message that it contained. Then describe its impact on the war in the space at the bottom.

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Español

In January 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history. Read more...

Primary Sources
Links go to DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives.
Teaching Activities

The Zimmermann Telegram on DocsTeach asks students to analyze the telegram to determine if the United States should have entered World War I based on the telegram's information and implications.

In this Decoding a Message exercise, students decode a fictitious message using a simple substitution code.

Additional Background Information

Between 1914 and the spring of 1917, the European nations engaged in a conflict that became known as World War I. While armies moved across the face of Europe, the United States remained neutral. In 1916 Woodrow Wilson was reelected President for a second term, largely because of the slogan "He kept us out of war."

Events in early 1917 would change that hope. In frustration over the effective British naval blockade, Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare on February 1, 1917. In response to the breaking of the Sussex pledge, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Germany. Several weeks later, on February 24, the British presented the Zimmermann telegram to the U.S. Government in an effort to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies.

The Zimmermann Telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, "No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences." It is his opinion that "never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message.
This text was adapted from the article "The Zimmerman Telegram" by Mary Alexander and Marilyn Childress.
Citation: Alexander, Mary and Marilyn Childress. "The Zimmerman Telegram." Social Education 45, 4 (April 1981): 266
Materials created by the National Archives and Records Administration are in the public domain.

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Español In January 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history.

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Every nation in World War 1 produced a great amount of propaganda during the war. You can learn more about it in the link below. List 3 goals of propaganda.

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Propaganda

During World War One, propaganda was employed on a global scale. Unlike previous wars, this was the first total war in which whole nations and not just professional armies were locked in mortal combat. This and subsequent modern wars required propaganda to mobilise hatred against the enemy; to convince the population of the justness of the cause; to enlist the active support and cooperation of neutral countries; and to strengthen the support of allies.

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Propaganda During World War One, propaganda was employed on a global scale. Unlike previous wars, this was the first total war in which whole nations and not just professional armies were locked in mortal combat.

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Now that you have had an introduction to World War I, please think of 3 open questions you still have about the war. So, in other words, based on what you learned, what are you still curious about or what do you not understand?