(A) The interception of the Sussex Pledge and the impending threat of espionage
(B) The buildup of arms in Europe and the German use of unrestricted submarine warfare
(C) Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and our growing alliance with Great Britain
(D) ** The interception of the Zimmerman telegram and German disregard for the Sussex Pledge
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -The telegram was considered perhaps Britain’s greatest intelligence coup of World War I and, coupled with American outrage over Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, was the tipping point persuading the U.S. to join the war.
Concept note-2: -Germany’s resumption of submarine attacks on passenger and merchant ships in 1917 became the primary motivation behind Wilson’s decision to lead the United States into World War I.
Concept note-3: -When war broke out in Europe, the United States immediately declared its neutrality. President Woodrow Wilson stated that America must be “impartial in thought as well as in action.” For a century, the U.S. had stayed out of European affairs. Most Americans preferred to continue this policy.
Concept note-4: -When war broke out in Europe in 1914 President Wilson declared that the United States would follow a strict policy of neutrality. This was a product of a longstanding idea at the heart of American foreign policy that the United States would not entangle itself with alliances with other nations.