The purpose of this study is to show the interrelationships between the pre-war conditions in partitioned Poland, the reasons for Polish immigration to the United States, and the effect of the First World War on the Poles in Europe and America. The organization of relief programs in the United States resulted in a deep concern for the plight of the Poles and was a major factor in the reopening and awareness of the Polish Question which had been dormant for more than a century. The study also places emphasis on the part played by the New York Times, whose news releases extensively covered the areas of Polish relief and self-determination.The dissertation is composed of a preface, introduction, seven chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction sets the basis for the reopening of the Polish Question by delving into Polish nationalism, the partition years, and the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. Chapter One is devoted to the early Years of Woodrow Wilson, one of the chief actors in the final self-determination for Poland. The character and personality analysis is carried through in Chapter Two as Wilson is considered as Governor and President. In Chapter Three the pre-Great War Polish emigration is considered. Background to the Polish Question is set by presenting life in Russian, Austrian, and German Poland and the strivings of Marx, Engels and the Polish Socialists for Polish independence.Chapter Four traces Polish immigration to the United States from the early settlements in Texas to the great immigration years just before the Great War. The study traces the formation and organization of Polish-American groups which formed a so-called "Fourth Part of Poland," but, with the exception of independence-minded Polish Socialists in America, worked primarily for the bettering of the Polish lot in the United States. Chapter Five presents the devastation which befell the Poles as their land became the battleground in Eastern Europe. The Poles in America cooperated in trying to ease the suffering of their European brethren. The story of Polish relief is traced through the New York Times, State Department documents, and the indefatigable labors of Ignace Jan Paderewski, famous Polish pianist and composer, who arrived in the United States in 1915 to spur on relief for Poland. The diplomatic manuevering is presented to show that the Poles were caught in the middle of the BritishGerman views on war relief and as a consequence received no adequate aid until after the November, 1918, Armistice. Throughout this story of Polish relief President Wilson stands out as a humanitarian and champion of Polish relief.Chapter Six probes into the relationship among Paderewski, Colonel House and Wilson. This relationship proved to be a vital factor in Wilson's support of selfdetermination and independence when the time was ripe in 1918. The chapter also considers the role played by the Polish voters in the 1916 election. The study casts doubt upon the crucial part which is credited to the Polish vote in the Wilson victory.The simultaneous events which occurred in Europe and America are covered in Chapter Seven. In Europe the Russians, Austro-Hungarians and Germans had already accepted the concept of Polish autonomy. The manpower needs of the European combatants forced them to a change of attitude. With recognition by the Russian Provisional Government in March, 1917, the Allies recognized the Polish National Committee in Paris and the Polish army. The United States followed in this respect. With Polish-American solidarity pressuring for Polish independence, complemented by an Allied policy to dissolve the Austro-Hungarian Empire, independence for Poland was assured. / Department of History

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references ( Leaves: 87-96)

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Grant, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 12, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Texte remanié de: Ph. D.--University of Cambridge.

Inaug.-diss.--Heidelberg. / Lebenslauf. "Literatur": p. 70-71.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this biographical study was to determine what influence Vice President Thomas R. Marshall (1854-1925) had on the events and personalities of the Wilson era. An only child and the son of a country doctor, Marshall distinguished himself early as an exceptional student and country lawyer. His political heritage was that of the Democratic party, strong in his northeastern Indiana county but weak in the larger Congressional district. An early defeat for public office (1880) convinced Marshall that he could do more for the party as a worker on the local, district, and state levels with his oratory and his legal acumen. Despite his lack of ambition to hold public office, Marshall in 1908 found himself his party's compromise candidate for governor of Indiana. Elected essentially on a platform that supported local option at the expense of prohibition, the upstate Hoosier lawyer became the head of his state for a four-year term (1909-1913), expanding the progressive or melioristic programs of his Republican predecessors.Midway through his incumbency Thomas Marshall had achieved national reputation as one of the most popular and successful Democratic governors, and supporters began to advance his cause as a Presidential nominee at the 1912 Baltimore Convention. The more active campaigning of the Woodrow Wilson forces achieved the nomination of their candidate, and the political machinations of Indiana's Thomas Taggart succeeded in placing Marshall as a running-mate with Wilson on the Democratic ticket, eventually achieving his election as Vice President.With the frugality of a Scotsman Marshall and his wife, Lois, entered smoothly into Washington society, occasionally entertaining but more often being invited as guests to state functions and private parties. As Vice President (1913-1921) Marshall proved to be an utterly loyal supporter of the Democratic administration and a capable and well-liked presiding officer of the Senate.Correspondence between Wilson and Marshall reveals the President's use as well as his appreciation of the Vice President. More often than not Marshall was a solid party asset on the campaign trail, journeying throughout the country every two years on behalf of the Democratic Congressional candidates. During the war years he was one of the active speakers at Liberty Loan drives, stimulating a patriotic and pecuniary response from the people. He provided distinctive introductory remarks for the allied war missions when they visited the United States Senate, and on occasion represented Wilson as his official emissary before foreign diplomats and monarchs.The last two dozen months in office were the most disappointing to him and the most challenging to his reputation. He was tempted by certain men to usurp the Presidency during Wilson's incapacitating illness and by others to manipulate the Senate debating procedure during discussion of the League of Nations Covenant. He refused to be a party to the former, and though a believer in the Covenant he was powerless to prevent its defeat by the Republican majority whose rights on the Senate floor he steadfastly protected.Noteworthy about Marshall were his unpretentiousness, his natural gift of humor, his exceptional speaking ability, and his occasional self-derogation. His reputation has been overshadowed by the President's personality and by other prominent persons and events of the time. Some written criticisms by administration officials, preserved and transmitted by historians, have obscured his role and personality. Thomas R. Marshall unquestionably had superior talents and did in fact use them in meaningful but unostentatious ways as President of the Senate and as servant of the President and of his country.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1971. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 675-687).

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2012