1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,599 Speaker 1: Hey y'all, Eve's here. We're doubling up today with two 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: events in history, one from me and one from former 3 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: host Tracy V. Wilson. One with the show Welcome to 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: this day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Com and from the desk of Stuff you Missed in 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: History Class. It's the show where we explore the past 7 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: one day at a time with a quick look at 8 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 9 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's January nineteenth. The German 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: ambassador to Mexico received a coded telegram from German Foreign 11 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: Secretary Arthur's Zimmerman on this day in nineteen seventeen. The 12 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: Zimmerman telegram then helped draw the United States until World 13 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: War One. So World War One started after the assassination 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,839 Speaker 1: of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie 15 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: on June fourteen. A series of declarations of war followed 16 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: that in Europe, but for the next three years the 17 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: United States mostly tried to stay out of it. The 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: American public really did not support the idea of going 19 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,200 Speaker 1: to war, so while the United States did provide war aid, 20 00:01:08,280 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: to the Allies was not really about actively engaging with troops, 21 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: and one of the reasons that Woodrow Wilson was re 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: elected in nineteen sixteen was that he had kept the 23 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: country out of the war so far. That changed after 24 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: British cryptographers decrypted that telegram. Here's what it said quote. 25 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted 26 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: submarine warfare. We shall endeavor, in spite of this, to 27 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: keep the United States of America neutral. In the event 28 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal or 29 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: alliance on the following basis, make war together, make peace together, 30 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: generous financial support, and an understanding on our part that 31 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New 32 00:01:55,760 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 1: Mexico and Arizona. The settlement in detail is left to you. 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,160 Speaker 1: You will inform the President of the above most secretly 34 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: as soon as the outbreak of war with the United 35 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: States of America is certain, and add the suggestion that 36 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate 37 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: adherents and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: Please call the President's attention to the fact that the 39 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of 40 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: compelling England in a few months to make peace, signed Zimmerman. 41 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: When it comes to the part about Mexico, is to 42 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, 43 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: Spain had colonized as part of North America, and then 44 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: it became part of Mexico after the Mexican War of Independence, 45 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,519 Speaker 1: and then Mexico ceded all of that land to the 46 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: United States at the end of the Mexican American War 47 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty eight. So Germany was saying, Mexico, if 48 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: the United States gets ready to enter this war, please 49 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: go fight them, draw their attention so that we can 50 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: continue on with our submarine attacks without restriction, and then 51 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: after we win the war, you'll get all that territory back. 52 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: Britain did not release this telegram to the United States 53 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: right away, though Britain did not want to reveal that 54 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: it had been intercepting these telegrams and had figured out 55 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: how to decode them. That would risk a huge source 56 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: of military intelligence. The Allies also really needed the support 57 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: of the United States in the war and anti German 58 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: sentiment was really growing in the United States, so it 59 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: seemed like if they waited a little bit for that 60 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: sentiment to keep growing, the telegram would have a bigger 61 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: impact once they actually released it. Britain released the telegram 62 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,960 Speaker 1: on February and that it was reported in the US 63 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: media on March one. It really wasn't all that likely 64 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: that Mexico was going to declare war on the United States. 65 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,000 Speaker 1: The Mexican Revolution had been going on for about seven years, 66 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: so Mexico frankly had other problems to deal with. Even so, 67 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: that telegram had the exact effect that Britain had wanted 68 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: for the United States. It's willingness to enter World War One. 69 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,119 Speaker 1: Public opinion really shifted in favor of going to war. 70 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: The United States declared war on Germany and its allies 71 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: on April six, nine seventeen. Thanks to Casey Pegram and 72 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: Chandler Maze for their audio work on this show. You 73 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: can subscribe to the Stay in History Class on Apple podcast, 74 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: Google podcast, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever you 75 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow for the end 76 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: of a crisis. Hello everybody, I'm Eves and you're tuned 77 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: into This Day in History Class, a show where we 78 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: travel back in time one day at a time. The 79 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: day was January nine, nineteen seventy seven. US President Gerald 80 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: Ford pardoned Iva to Guru da Kino, a Japanese American broadcaster, 81 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: more than two decad aids after she was released from prison. Daquino, 82 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: also known as Tokyo Rose, had been convicted of treason 83 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: for aiding Japan during World War Two. Tokyo Rose was 84 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: actually the name that Allied service people gave women who 85 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: broadcasted on Japanese propaganda radio. Daquino became synonymous with the 86 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: label Tokyo Rose, but there were many broadcasters who worked 87 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: to demoralize Allied soldiers, sailors, and marines in the Pacific. 88 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: Dakino grew up in Los Angeles. In one months before 89 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,119 Speaker 1: the Pearl Harbor bombing and the US's entry into World 90 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: War Two, she went to Japan to take care of 91 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: her sick aunt. She left with an identification card but 92 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: no passport. While in Japan, she went to the U. 93 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: S Vice Consul to get a passport, saying she wanted 94 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: to go back to the US. Her application was sent 95 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: to the State Department, but before her passport was issued 96 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: the Japanese these attacked Pearl Harbor. Dakina was stuck in 97 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: Japan during the war. There she refused to bow to 98 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: Japanese pressure to renounce her US citizenship and become a 99 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: Japanese citizen. She attended a Japanese language and cultural school, 100 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: and she worked for the Doma news agency, but Japan 101 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: would not grant her a food ration card and it 102 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: was hard to make ends meet. In late nineteen forty three, 103 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: she began working as an announcer and DJ for Radio 104 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: Tokyo's propaganda broadcasts. At the time, Allied prisoners of war 105 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,240 Speaker 1: were forced to broadcast propaganda. Dacano started broadcasting on a 106 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 1: program called The Zero Hour under the name Orphan Ann. 107 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 1: She was one of many women who spoke American English 108 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: and announced for these propaganda broadcasts, which were sent out 109 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: to US troops. They made statements designed to lower troops morale, 110 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: played popular songs, and broadcast news. She made a reported 111 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: one and fifty yen or seven dollars per month. Army 112 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: analysis determined that the propaganda broadcast did not have a 113 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: negative effect on troop morale, but their supposed concern with 114 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: Jakino was the fact that she seemed to have intelligence 115 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: on US ship and troop movements based on her broadcasts. 116 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,960 Speaker 1: After the Japanese surrendered in nineteen, reporters found out about 117 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: her broadcasts and interviewed her. After gaining notoriety for her 118 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: press and becoming associated with the moniker Tokyo rose U, S, 119 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: authorities arrested and questioned her. She claimed that she never 120 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: called herself Tokyo rose and her broadcasts, which was true. 121 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: There was no evidence that any broadcaster even called themselves 122 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: Tokyo rose U. S. Military occupiers released her after detaining 123 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: her for a year since they did not have evidence 124 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,559 Speaker 1: that she committed crimes against the US, but the case 125 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: against Dakino was re nighted when she requested a US 126 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: passport again and veterans groups and broadcaster Walter Winchell spoke 127 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 1: out against her return and alleged crimes. The US Justice 128 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: Department reopened her case. She was arrested for treason, sent 129 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: to San Francisco, and put in county jail. Her trial 130 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: started in ninety nine. During the trial, she said that 131 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: she had never made disloyal statements and that she had 132 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: even tried to thwart the broadcast effectiveness by including double meanings. Still, 133 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: she was convicted on a single count of treason for 134 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: speaking quote into a microphone concerning the loss of ships. 135 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 1: Dakina was the only woman who broadcasted for Radio Tokyo 136 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 1: who was known to be an American citizen. She was 137 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: sentenced to ten years in prison and a ten thousand 138 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: dollar fine. She served six years and two months of 139 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 1: her sentence and was released early for good behavior. The 140 00:08:55,760 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: government tried to deport her, but she resisted those efforts. 141 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: You ran a grocery store and gift shop in Chicago 142 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: and sought a pardon with persistence. She maintained that she 143 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: even secretly gave food and medicine to Allied POWs in Japan. 144 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: So she had a lot of detractors. There were also 145 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: people who supported her and were skeptical of the government's case. 146 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: Journalists Ron Yates of the Chicago Tribune found out that 147 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: two former Radio Tokyo employees who testified against Dakino at 148 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: trial had perjured themselves under pressure from U S officials. 149 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: A sixty minutes special on the case premiered in nineteen 150 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: seventy seven. On January nineteenth of that year, President for 151 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: pardoned her on his last full day in office, and 152 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: her citizenship was restored. Dakino died in two thousand and 153 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: six at age ninety. I'm Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully 154 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 155 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,679 Speaker 1: did yesterday. Send your best history means to us at 156 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: T d i h C Podcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 157 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: Email still works. Send us a note at this day 158 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks for listening and we'll see 159 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: you tomorrow.