Whereas a shared commitment to democratic principles, freedom, rule of law, and human rights form the foundation of the close United States-Polish relationship, as well as the deep resolve to the North Atlantic military alliance and the transatlantic relationship to ensure security in Europe and globally; Whereas the United States-Polish friendship precedes the birth of the United States, where Polish generals Taddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski bravely fought for independence and freedom for both the United States and Poland; Whereas the democratic values of the United States and Poland go back to the 1700s; Whereas, on May 3, 1791, Poland adopted the first constitution in Europe based on the ideas of liberty and constitutional monarchy, which paved the way for future democratic reforms and equal rights for all; Whereas in October 1795, Poland was invaded and succumbed to the third partition between the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy, and as a result lost its sovereignty for the next 123 years; Whereas Poles’ perseverant fight to regain independence culminated in the November Uprising of 1830 and the January Uprising of 1863, in which hundreds of Poles sacrificed their lives to help rebuild Poland’s sovereignty; Whereas Poland’s national identity was preserved through fostered education and economic empowerment of the masses, coined in the organic work ideology, that recognized modernization of the Polish society as a prerequisite for preservation of Polish nationhood; Whereas President Woodrow Wilson’s and Igancy Pa­de­rew­ski’s advocacy for the cause of Poland’s independence were critical for the recognition of Polish sovereignty after the end of the First World War; Whereas, on November 11, 1918, the Regency Council of Poland named Jozef Pilsudski the Commander in Chief of Poland and entrusted him to build a government for the newly reconstituted Poland, marking the formation of the Second Republic of Poland