First World War

Submitted by Michelle Scheuter on Mon, 01/21/2013 - 20:53

One of the most surprising pieces of information that I read was that the United States entered the first war. I knew that Americans went overseas to help fight, but I did not realize that President Wilson actually declared war as well. The U.S. did not enter WWI until the very end, but I also found one of the reasons why they entered to be very interesting. The one thing I do not understand is why Britain waited so long to tell President Wilson about the decoded message they intercepted. "On that assumption the German Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmerman, had already on 16 January cabled the Mexican government," "The British had intercepted and decoded this remarkable document as soon as it was sent, but they did not reveal its contents to Wilson until 24 February". 

This piece of information alone makes me to look at the first world war in a different light. The dealings that went on during the war are incredibly interesting. This helps me to be even more open about what went on and why things happened the way they did. I look forward to reading more material and diving deeper into the history.

Comments

Christopher Hol...

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 22:01

I also found that particular piece of information curious. Why would Britain wait to tell the U.S.? The best thing that I can think of is that perhaps Britain thought that either A) The United States wouldn't believe them, or B) Britain thought that if the United States either found out on their own or suffered an attack it would be more effective at motivating the U.S. into action, but I'm just guessing.

Jeff Drouin

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 22:17

The background machinations and secrets kept even from allies are a major and surprising part of the war. But, English majors, please tell us exactly what document you're referring to and on what page this information can be found!

An interesting counterpoint will be Vera Brittain's description of the first American troops marching into the conflict, near the end of next week's readings. Stay tuned!