The Irish, Jewish, Lithuanian, Serbian, Czech, and other hyphenated Americans
desired the U.S. to recognize the independence of their homelands. Attempting to keep the nation united in the war effort, Wilson knew that if one group was recognized, all others would want recognition. When Helena Paderewski, wife of Ignacy, asked Wilson to declare a Polish Day,
a day to raise money for the Polish Army in France, Wilson refused her request. Wilson was sympathetic
to the cause. However, [i]n view of the many national elements of which our population is composed and by which it is enriched,
and of the many controversial matters which have sprung up, not only in regard to similar
matters affecting their nationalities,
Wilson felt it was best to leave this matter to a
private initiative.
Congress was also pressuring the President to state the creation of an independent
Poland with access to the sea as one of the country’s war objectives.
Representative Thomas Gallagher, a Chicago Democrat whose district contained a large
Polish-American constituency, proposed the first such resolution. Wilson felt
such legislation regarding a final settlement was unwise. Because of his past speeches
and the U.S. recognition of the Polish National Committee, Wilson was of the opinion that [o]ur attitude is clearly spoken by our actions.
Although the President admitted Poland had a somewhat definable territory, others, such as the Yugoslavs and the Czechs, did not. If we are to be definite in the case of this particular national aspiration, why not in the case of others, and where shall we stop, definition being at each step increasingly difficult.
The legislation was dropped. Republican Senator Henry Cabot Lodge then picked up the issue and pressured Wilson to accept an independent Yugoslav,
Czech, and Polish states as war aims. The President did not budge. To Wilson, these
matters would have to wait until a peace conference took place. Did Wilson’s
reluctance to officially recognize the independent state of Poland as a war aim
hurt this cause?
©2006 Tim Sheehan