Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: The Zimmermann Telegram ( or Zimmermann Note ) was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States .
Simplified: The Zimmermann Telegram ( also called the Zimmermann Note ) was a telegram sent to Mexico from Germany on January 16 , 1917 . It is named for the German man who sent it , Arthur Zimmermann .