There's not even a hint of emotion or personality in the Zimmermann Telegram and, whoa, before you get all judgy, it's not Zimmermann's fault. Zimmermann wrote the thing thinking that only one guy...

EpistleSaying that the Zimmermann Telegram has structure may be generous. It didn't even have punctuation. The note was sent in code, basically a list of clustered digits that represented words, or...

Zimmermann probably sent lots of telegrams in his life, but this is by far the most consequential, so they named it after him. It's The Zimmermann Telegram. (Don't forget that extra N in his last n...

There aren't really opening lines, although there were instructions for the telegram office to give it to the German Legation (meaning embassy) in Mexico City. These were the only words not in code...

There aren't really any closing lines in the Zimmerman Telegram, except that Zimmermann signed his name (also in code) so that Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador to Mexico, would know that...

(1) Sea LevelThe Zimmermann Telegram is only seven sentences long—and that includes the signature. Sure, it's longer than a Tweet, but it's not much worse than an annoyingly long text message.The...

In-Text ReferencesHistorical and Political ReferencesMexican President Venustiano Carranza (5, 6)Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in which Mexico gave up lots of land to the U.S. (3)

The Zimmermann Telegram used American cables (because the German's had been cut) and thus passed through Washington D.C. on its way to Mexico. The Germans weren't supposed to send encrypted message...