Crossword Genius

Backing unsettled Poles to take America to heart (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

espousal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'backing' is the definition.
(espousal is supporting or backing an idea)

'unsettled poles to take america to heart' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'america' could be 'usa' (synonyms) and 'usa' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'poles' is 'espol' which is within the left over letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for espousal that I've seen before include "championship" , "Action of adopting (a cause)" , "Adoption (of a cause) - USA's pole (anag)" , "Adoption, support (of)" , "Acceptance with approval" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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