The majority of the Ukrainian diaspora in the Americas focused on freeing the nation and obtaining independence. Thus, during the First World War and the fight for freedom in Ukraine (1919–1920), the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States of America and Canada actively sought to get the governments to support their cause. An interesting note is the role the Ruthenians played to convince the United States' government about the inclusion of the Transcarpathian region into the Czechoslovak Republic in 1919. The Ukrainian diaspora sent delegates to the Paris Peace Conference.