Ideologically, they were categorized as being in the more conservative wing of the Democratic Party, and demonstrated a much stronger inclination for third-party candidates in presidential elections than the American public.

Upon his death and the failures of the proposed League of Nations, Polish-Americans shifted Republican, voting for Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover because of their frustration with Wilson and the weakness of the nascent Polish state.

The Democratic Party won over Polonia during the New Deal Coalition forged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and gained strong support for the war effort by Polish-Americans who were fiercely against Nazi Germany.

Poland's liberation from Soviet occupation during the 1980s was championed to Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, but Bill Clinton seized Polish voters through his expansion of NATO.

[5] The first Americans of Polish extraction originated in 1608, when Captain John Smith brought a handful to Virginia for their expertise in glass production, pitch, tar, soap making, and ship construction.

Polish-Americans grew highly patriotic towards the United States during World War I, and turned to Woodrow Wilson with a strong 74% of the vote in 1916 for his support of Polish independence.

A similar ethnic experience occurred for other Slavic immigrants in the United States during World War I, particularly Czech and Slovak, when the Pittsburgh Agreement was drafted with backing from the Allies.

Wilson's friendly policy toward Poland was due in large part to his close personal friendship with Ignacy Jan Paderewski, who spoke frequently to Polish-American social clubs.

Tumulty reported on multiple demonstrations against Germany's militaristic aggression against Poland, as well as other eastern European nations.a In telegrams, Tumulty also indicated unpopularity of terms of the Treaty and the League, and said the Republican Party could take disaffected voters, such as the Poles, by opposing the League of Nations.b After Woodrow Wilson, Polish voters swung Republican starting in 1920, like many ethnics who supported Warren Harding.

The new Polish nation, which contained many Russians, Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans, was made especially weak by the clause granting these groups a protected class distinction in Poland.

The Treaty provided minority safeguards to Jewish Poles, and Wilson sent Henry Morgenthau, Sr. and other Jewish-American diplomats to Poland to defend Jews against any anti-semitism.

"[12] The postwar economy suffered from double digit unemployment and 15% inflation, and a rise in violence and labor protests served as a rebuke of the Democratic Party.

[13] Polish-Americans generally were predisposed to Democratic candidates because of their economic status in the United States, but they gave their overwhelming appreciation to Republican President Herbert Hoover in 1928 unlike any other ethnic community.

Hoover had served in the American Relief Association during the Wilson administration, and his support in aiding starving Polish children following World War I was not forgotten.

In private conversations, FDR told Stalin that he was willing to give the USSR Poland's eastern region while taking land it lost to Germany, moving it westward.

Truman also met with Thaddeus Wasielewski, a Polish-American politician who lost re-election due to a bitter internal party dispute over the Yalta conference.

In 1952, following the results of the Yalta Conference and the takeover of Poland by the Soviet Union, Poles overwhelmingly voted against the Democratic Party, giving 70% of their support to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As early as 1955, Kennedy received a citation from the Polish-American Citizens Club in Boston for his attention to Polish issues, including his recent trip to Poland, his reports on the conditions afflicting the country, and his commitment to anti-Communism in the region.

The culture wars that had erupted over the civil rights movement, Vietnam protests, drugs, feminism and abortion were decidedly against Polish-American Catholics' socially conservative views.

[26] During his election in 1972, Richard Nixon is credited with remaking the Republican Party into a "new majority", which focused on inclusion of blue-collar workers, southern and suburban whites, and urban ethnic Catholics, especially of Italian, Irish, and Polish descent.

[27] McGovern's standing with Polish-Americans was hurt by the fact that he had beaten Edmund Muskie in the Democratic primary, effectively killing their chance of a U.S. president of Polish descent.

Poland, as well as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia had been listed as "captive nations" and recognized as such under United States Cold War politics from its inception in 1959.

[30] Time magazine on Oct 18, 1976 said Ford "was given a chance to retreat" from his statement upon cross-examination, but chose to continue and "charged into a trap of his own making", saying that Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia had been "independent, autonomous" countries.

According to Terry Gabinski, a Democratic politician in Chicago, Polish-Americans were not eager to vote for Jimmy Carter up to that point because they believed he was pro-abortion and did not want to disobey the Catholic Church's teachings on abortion.

Two congressmen with the largest constituencies, Benjamin Gilman and Hank Brown, held meetings with Koźminski personally and immediately signed for Poland's enrollment into NATO.

In March 1997, Polish American activist Marilyn Piurek met with President Clinton and discussed his support for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic's entry into NATO.

[34][35] Al Gore did not win over the Polish-American vote with much effort, and the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Council identified that as a blunder to his campaign.

[36] On Nov. 1, 2000, just days before the election, Gore turned down an invitation to come to Washington for the Polish National Alliance's celebration of 20 years of Solidarity, including the AFL-CIO President.

He was endorsed by Lech Wałęsa, but was rebuked by the pro-trade union Solidarity (Poland) because of Romney's alignment with business interests such as right-to-work law perceived as hostile to unionists and workers' rights.

Simonds' article appearing in certain American newspapers Sunday, admirable, explaining reasons for Saar Valley and French pact and other controversial matters.