Constitution of May 3, 1791

Constitution of May 3, 1791
For the painting by Jan Matejko, see Constitution of 3

May, 1791 (painting).
Russia and the Targowica Confederation of anti-reform

Polish magnates and landless nobility. The King, a principal co-author, eventually capitulated to the Confederates.
The 1791 document remained in force for less than
19 months; it was annulled by the Grodno Sejm on
23 November 1793. By 1795, the Second and Third
Partitions of Poland ended the existence of the sovereign
Polish state. Over the next 123 years, the Constitution of 3 May, 1791, was seen as proof of successful
internal reform and as a symbol promising the eventual restoration of Polands sovereignty. In the words of
two of its co-authors, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kotaj, it was the last will and testament of the expiring
Country.[lower-alpha 1] British historian Norman Davies
described the document as the rst constitution of its
type in Europe"; others have called it the worlds secondoldest codied national constitution after the 1789 U.S.
Constitution.[2][3][4][5][lower-alpha 2]
Jan Matejko, Constitution of 3 May, 1791, 1891

Foreground: King Stanisaw August (left) enters St Johns Collegiate Church where deputies will swear to uphold the Constitution. Background: the Royal Castle where the Constitution has
just been adopted
The Constitution of 3 May 1791 (Polish: Konstytucja

3 maja) was adopted by the Great Sejm (parliament)
of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, a dual monarchy comprising Poland and Lithuania. Drafted over
32 months beginning on 6 October 1788, and formally
adopted as the Government Act (Ustawa rzdowa), the
document was designed to redress the Commonwealths
political defects. The system of Golden Freedoms, also
known as the Nobles Democracy, had conferred disproportionate rights on the nobility (szlachta) and over
time had corrupted politics. The adoption of the Constitution was preceded by a period of agitation for
and gradual introduction ofreforms beginning with the
Convocation Sejm of 1764 and the election of Stanisaw
August Poniatowski as the Commonwealths last king.
1 Background
Main articles:
History of the PolishLithuanian
Commonwealth (16481764) and History of the Polish
Lithuanian Commonwealth (176495)
Polish constitutionalism can be traced to the 13th century,
when government by consensus and representation was
already well established in the young Polish state. The
emergence of parliamentary bodies, the sejm and sejmiki,
followed. By the 17th century, Polands legal and political tradition was characterized by: parliamentary institutions and a system of checks and balances on state power,
which was itself limited by decentralization; the idea of
a contractual state, embodied in texts like the Henrician
Articles and the Pacta conventa; the concept of individual liberties; and the notion that the monarch owed duties
to his subjects. This system, which primarily beneted
the Polish nobility (szlachta), came to be known as the
"nobles democracy".[7]
The constitution sought to supplant the prevailing anarchy fostered by some of the countrys magnates with a
more democratic constitutional monarchy. It introduced
elements of political equality between townspeople and
nobility, and placed the peasants under the protection
of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of
serfdom. It banned parliamentary institutions such as the
liberum veto, which had put the Sejm at the mercy of any
deputy who could revoke all the legislation that had been
passed by that Sejm. The Commonwealths neighbours
reacted with hostility to the adoption of the constitution.
Frederick William II's Kingdom of Prussia broke its alliance with the Commonwealth, which was attacked and
then defeated in the War in Defence of the Constitution
by an alliance between Catherine the Great's Imperial
1.1 End of the Golden Age

The 1791 Constitution was a response to the increasingly perilous situation in the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth,[8] which had been a major European power
only a century earlier and was still the largest state on
1
2
the continent.[9] In the 1590s, at the peak of the nobles
democracy, King Sigismund III Vasa's court preacher
the Jesuit Piotr Skargahad condemned the weaknesses
of the Commonwealth.[10] In the same period, writers and
philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski[11] and
Wawrzyniec Grzymaa Golicki,[12] and the egzekucja
praw (Execution-of-the-Laws) reform movement led by
Jan Zamoyski had advocated political reforms.[13] As he
was struggling with the Sejm, in 1661 Sigismunds son
King John Casimirwhose reign saw highly destructive
wars and obstructionism by the nobilitycorrectly predicted that the Commonwealth was in danger of a partition by Russia, Brandenburg and Austria.[14]
BACKGROUND
including another pretender to the Polish throne, King

Stanisaw Leszczyski.[20] Those conicts often took the
form of confederationslegal rebellions against the king
permitted under the Golden Freedomsincluding the
Warsaw Confederation (1704), Sandomierz Confederation, Tarnogrd Confederation, Dzikw Confederation
and the War of the Polish Succession.[20] Only 8 out
of 18 Sejm sessions during the reign of Augustus II
(16941733) passed legislation.[21] For 30 years during
the reign of Augustus III, only one session was able to pass
legislation.[22] The government was near collapse, giving
rise to the term Polish anarchy, and the country was
managed by provincial assemblies and magnates.[22]
Other reform attempts in the Wettin era were led by individuals such as Stanisaw Dunin-Karwicki, Stanisaw A.
Szczuka, Kazimierz Karwowski and Micha Jzef Massalski; these mostly proved to be futile.[16][20]
1.2 Early reforms
Rejtan, by Matejko; in September 1773, Tadeusz Rejtan (lower

right) tried to prevent ratication of the First Partition of
the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth by barring other Sejm
deputies from the chamber.
As the Sejm failed to implement sucient reforms, the

state machinery became increasingly dysfunctional. A
major cause of the Commonwealths downfall was the
liberum veto (free veto), which since 1652 had allowed
any Sejm deputy to nullify all the legislation enacted by
that Sejm.[7][15] As a result, deputies bribed by magnates
or foreign powersprimarily from the Russian Empire,
the Kingdom of Prussia and Franceor deputies who believed they were living in an unprecedented Golden Age
paralysed the Commonwealths government for over a
century.[7][15][16] The threat of the liberum veto could only
be overridden by the establishment of a "confederated
sejm", which was immune to the liberum veto.[17] Declaring that a sejm either constituted a "confederation" or
belonged to one was a contrivance prominently used by
foreign interests in the 18th century to force a legislative
King Stanisaw II August, principal author of the Constitution. A
outcome.[18]
year later he acquiesced in its overthrow.
By the early 18th century, the magnates of Poland and
Lithuania controlled the state, ensuring that no reforms The Enlightenment greatly inuenced certain Commonthat might weaken their privileged status (the "Golden wealth circles during the 176495 reign of its last king,
Freedoms") would be enacted.[19] The ineective monar- Stanisaw II August Poniatowski. Poniatowski was an
chs who were elected to the Commonwealth throne in enlightened Polish magnate who had been a deputy
the early 18th century,[20] Augustus II the Strong and to several Sejms between 1750 and 1764 and had a
Augustus III of Poland of the House of Wettin, did not deeper understanding of Polish politics than previous
improve matters. The Wettins, used to the absolute rule monarchs.[23] The Convocation Sejm of 1764, which
practiced in their native Saxony, tried to govern through elected Poniatowski to the throne, was controlled by
intimidation and the use of force, which led to a series the Czartoryski family's reformist Familia party and was
of conicts between their supporters and opponents backed up by Russian military forces, which the Czarto-
1.2
Early reforms
ryskis invited.[24] In exchange for passing decrees favorable to them, the Russians and Prussians let the
confederated Convocation Sejm enact a number of reforms, including the weakening of liberum veto and ensuring it no longer applied to treasury and economic
matters.[23][24][25] A more comprehensive reform package was presented by Andrzej Zamoyski, but opposition
from Prussia, Russia and the Polish nobility thwarted this
ambitious program, which proposed to decide on all motions by majority voting.[24] In part because his election
was imposed by Empress Catherine the Great, Poniatowskis political position was weak from the beginning.
He proceeded with cautious reforms such as the establishment of scal and military ministries and the introduction of a national customs tari, which was soon abandoned because of opposition from Frederick the Great of
Prussia.[24] These measures had already been authorized
by the Convocation Sejm; more legislative and executive
improvements inspired by Familia or the King were implemented during and after the 1764 Sejm.[24]
3
outside Warsaw in support of the conservative Radom
Confederation.[30][31][32] The King and his adherents had
little choice but to acquiesce to Russian demands. During the Repnin Sejm (named after the unocially presiding Russian ambassador Nicholas Repnin) the King accepted the ve eternal and invariable principles which
Catherine had vowed to protect for all time to come in
the name of Polands liberties": the election of kings, the
right of liberum veto, the right to renounce allegiance to
and raise rebellion against the king (rokosz), the szlachta
's exclusive right to hold oce and land, and landowners power over their peasants.[25][27][30][31] Thus all the
privileges (Golden Freedoms) of the nobility that had
made the Commonwealth ungovernable were guaranteed
as unalterable in the Cardinal Laws.[30][31][32] The Cardinal Laws and the rights of religious dissenters passed
by the Repnin Sejm were personally guaranteed by Empress Catherine. By these acts of legislation, for the rst
time, Russia formally intervened in the Commonwealths
constitutional aairs.[33]
During the 1768 Sejm, Repnin showed his disregard for
local resistance by arranging the abduction and imprisonment of Kajetan Sotyk, Jzef A. Zauski, Wacaw
Rzewuski and Seweryn Rzewuski, all vocal opponents
of foreign domination and the recently proclaimed
policies.[34] The PolishLithuanian Commonwealth had
legally and practically become a protectorate of the Russian Empire.[35] Nonetheless, several minor benecial reforms were adopted, political rights of the religious minorities were restored and the need for more reforms was
becoming increasingly recognized.[31][34]
From his election, King Stanisaw August Poniatowski worked to

develop an executive government council. In 1775 the Partition
Sejm established a Permanent Council, after Russia's Catherine
the Great concluded it would serve her purposes.[26]
The Commonwealths magnates viewed reform with suspicion and neighboring powers, content with the deterioration of the Commonwealth, abhorred the thought of a
resurgent and democratic power on their borders.[27] With
the Commonwealth Army reduced to around 16,000,
it was easy for its neighbors to intervene directly In 1791 the Great (Four-Year) Sejm (178892) and Senate
the Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000 and the adopted the Constitution at Warsaws Royal Castle.
Prussian Army and Imperial Austrian Army had 200,000
each.[28]
King Stanisaw Augusts acquiescence to the Russian inRussias Empress Catherine and Prussias King Freder- tervention encountered some opposition. On February
ick II provoked a conict between members of the Sejm 29, 1768, several magnatesincluding Jzef Puaski and
and the King over civil rights for religious minorities, his young son Kazimierz Puaski (Casimir Pulaski)
such as Protestants and Greek Orthodox whose positions, vowing to oppose Russian inuence, declared Stanisaw
which were guaranteed equal with the Catholic major- August a lackey of Russia and Catherine, and formed a
ity by the Warsaw Confederation of 1573, had wors- confederation at the town of Bar.[34][36][37] The Bar Conened considerably.[25][29][30][31] Catherine and Frederick federation focused on limiting the inuence of foreigners
declared their support for the szlachta and their liber- in Commonwealth aairs, and being pro-Catholic was
ties, and by October 1767 Russian troops had assembled generally opposed to religious tolerance.[36] It began a
2 ADOPTION
civil war to overthrow the King, but its irregular forces Political Thoughts on Civil Liberties (1775) and Patriotic
were overwhelmed by Russian intervention in 1772.[27]
Letters (177878), by Jzef Wybicki, author of the lyrics
The defeat of the Bar Confederation set the scene for the of the Polish National Anthem; (Anonymous Letters to
partition treaty of August 5, 1772, which was signed at Stanisaw Maachowski (178889) and The Political Law
Saint Petersburg by Russia, Prussia and Austria.[36] The of the Polish Nation (1790), by Hugo Kotaj, head of
the Life of
treaty divested the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth the Kotajs Forge party; and Remarks on
[44][47]
Jan
Zamoyski
(1787),
by
Stanisaw
Staszic.
Ignacy
of about a third of its territory and populationover
satires
of
the
Great
Sejm
era
were
also
seen
Krasicki's
2
[38]
200,000 km (77,220 sq mi) and 4 million people.
as crucial to giving the constitution moral and political
The three powers justied their annexation, citing an[48]
archy in the Commonwealth and its refusal to cooper- support.
ate with its neighbors eorts to restore order.[39] King
Stanisaw August yielded and on April 19, 1773, he called
the Sejm into session. Only 102 of about 200 deputies
attended what became known as the Partition Sejm. The
rest were aware of the Kings decision and refused. Despite protests from the deputy Tadeusz Rejtan and others,
the treatylater known as the First Partition of Poland
was ratied.[38]
Royal Castle Senate Chamber, where the Constitution was

adopted
A new wave of reforms supported by progressive magnates such as the Czartoryski family and King Stanisaw
August were introduced at the Partition Sejm.[32][49][50]
The most important included the 1773 establishment
of the Commission of National Education (Komisja
Edukacji Narodowej)the rst ministry of education
in the world.[38][50][51][52] New schools were opened,
uniform textbooks were printed, teachers received better education and poor students were provided with
scholarships.[38][50] The Commonwealths military was
to be modernized and funding to create a larger standing army was agreed.[53] Economic and commercial
reformsincluding some intended to cover the increased
military budget previously shunned as unimportant by
the szlachtawere introduced.[49][50][53] A new executive assembly, the 36-strong Permanent Council comprising ve ministries with limited legislative powers, was established, giving the Commonwealth a governing body in
constant session between Sejms and therefore immune to
their liberum veto disruptions.[32][38][49][50]
In 1776, the Sejm commissioned former chancellor Andrzej Zamoyski to draft a new legal code.[40] By 1780, he
and his collaborators had produced the Zamoyski Code
(Zbir praw sdowych). It would have strengthened royal
power, made all ocials answerable to the Sejm, placed
the clergy and their nances under state supervision, and
deprived landless szlachta of many of their legal immunities. The Code would also have improved the situation of
non-noblestownspeople and peasants.[54] Zamoyskis
progressive legal code, containing elements of constitutional reform, met with opposition from native conservative szlachta and foreign powers; the 1780 Sejm did not
adopt it.[40][54][55]
The rst of the three successive 18th-century partitions

of Commonwealth territory that would eventually remove
Polands sovereignty shocked the Commonwealths inhabitants and made it clear to progressive minds that
the Commonwealth must either reform or perish.[38] In
the thirty years before the Constitution, there was a rising interest among progressive thinkers in constitutional
reform.[40] Before the First Partition, a Polish noble,
Micha Wielhorski was sent to France by the Bar Confederation to ask the philosophes Gabriel Bonnot de Mably
and Jean-Jacques Rousseau for their suggestions on a
new constitution for a reformed Poland.[41][42][43][44][45] 2 Adoption
Mably submitted his recommendations Du gouvernement et des lois en Pologne (The Government and Laws
Main article: Great Sejm
of Poland) in 177071, whereas Rousseau nished his
Considerations on the Government of Poland in 1772
when the First Partition was already underway.[46] Works
advocating the need for reform and presenting specic solutions were published in the Commonwealth by Polish
Lithuanian thinkers: On an Eective Way of Councils
or on the Conduct of Ordinary Sejms (176163), by
Stanisaw Konarski, founder of the Collegium Nobilium; Maachowski
Kotaj
Potocki
Staszic
Piattoli
An opportunity for reform occurred during the Great
Sejmalso called the Four-Year Sejmof 178892,
which began on October 6, 1788, with 181 deputies. In
accordance with the Constitutions preamble, from 1790
it met in dual number when 171 newly elected deputies
joined the earlier-established Sejm.[32][47][56] On its second day, the body became a confederated sejm to avoid
the liberum veto.[47][57][58] Concurrent world events appeared to have been opportune for the reformers.[32] Russia and Austria were at war with the Ottoman Empire, and
the Russians found themselves simultaneously ghting in
the Russo-Swedish War, 17881790.[32][59][60][61] A new
alliance between the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth
and Prussia seemed to provide security against Russian
intervention, and King Stanisaw August drew closer to
leaders of the reform-minded Patriotic Party.[32][62][63]
The Sejm passed few major reforms in its rst two years,
but the subsequent two years brought more substantial
changes.[58] The Sejm adopted the 1791 Free Royal Cities
Act, which was formally incorporated into the nal constitution. This act addressed a number of matters related
to the cities, crucially expanding burghers (i.e., townspeoples) rights, including electoral rights.[64][65] While
the Sejm comprised representatives of the nobility and
clergy, the reformers were supported by the burghers,
who in late 1789 organized in Warsaw a "Black Procession" demanding full political enfranchisement of the
bourgeoisie.[63] On 18 April 1791 the Sejmfearing that
the burghers protests, if ignored, could turn violent, as
they had in France not long beforeadopted the Free
Royal Cities Act.[66]
The new constitution was drafted by the King, with
contributions from Ignacy Potocki, Hugo Kotaj and
others.[32][48] The King is credited with writing the general provisions and Kotaj with giving the document
its nal shape.[48][58] Stanisaw August wanted the Commonwealth to become a constitutional monarchy similar
to that of Great Britain, with a strong central government based on a strong monarch.[58] Potocki wanted the
Sejm to be the strongest branch of government. Kotaj wanted a gentle revolution, carried out without violence, to enfranchise other social classes in addition to
the nobility.[58]
The proposed reforms were opposed by the conservatives, including the Hetmans Party.[47][67] Threatened
with violence by their opponents, the advocates of the
draft began the debate on the Government Act two days
early, while many opposing deputies were away on Easter
recess.[68] The debate and subsequent adoption of the
Government Act was executed as a quasi-coup d'tat.
No recall notices were sent to known opponents of reform, while many pro-reform deputies secretly returned
early.[68] The royal guard under the command of the
Kings nephew Prince Jzef Poniatowski were positioned
about the Royal Castle, where the Sejm was gathered,
to prevent opponents from disrupting the proceedings.[68]
On May 3, the Sejm convened with only 182 members,
about half its dual number.[65][68] The bill was read and
overwhelmingly adopted, to the enthusiasm of the crowds
outside.[69] A protest was submitted the next day by a
small group of deputies, but on May 5 the matter was
ocially concluded and protests were invalidated by the
Constitutional Deputation of the Sejm.[70] It was the rst
time in the 18th century that a constitutional act had been
passed in the Commonwealth without the involvement of
foreign powers.[70]
Soon after, the Friends of the Constitution (Zgromadzenie
Przyjaci Konstytucji Rzdowej)which included many
participants in the Great Sejmwas organised to defend
the reforms already enacted and to promote further ones.
It is now regarded as the rst modern-style political party
in Polands history.[48][71] The response to the new constitution was less enthusiastic in the provinces, where
the Hetmans Party enjoyed considerable inuence.[69]
General support among the middle nobility was crucial and still very substantial; most of the provincial sejmiks deliberating in 1791 and early 1792 supported the
constitution.[72]
3 FEATURES
Features
ticle II conrmed many old privileges of the nobility,

stressing that all nobles are equal and should enjoy personal security and the right to property.[77] Article III
stipulated that the earlier Free Royal Cities Act (Miasta
Nasze Krlewskie Wolne w Pastwach Rzeczypospolitej)
of April 18 (or 21), 1791, was integral to the constitution. Personal securityneminem captivabimus, the Polish habeas corpus actwas extended to townspeople (including Jews). Townspeople also gained the right to acquire landed property and became eligible for military
ocers commissions and public oces, such as reserved
seats in the Sejm and seats in the executive commissions
of the Treasury, the Police and the Judiciary.[7][66] Membership of the nobility was also made easier for burghers
to acquire.[78]
With half a million burghers in the Commonwealth
now substantially enfranchised, political power became
more equally distributed, but little was done about the
less politically conscious and active classes, such as
the Jews and peasants.[59][76][77][79] Although Article IV
placed the Commonwealths peasantry under the protection of the national lawa rst step toward enfranchising the countrys largest and most oppressed social classthe low status of the peasantry as compared
to other classes was not eliminated, as the constitution
did not abolish serfdom.[77][79][80][lower-alpha 3] Not until
the Second Partition and Kociuszkos Proclamation of
Poaniec in 1794 would the Polish government begin to
abolish serfdom.[82]
Original manuscript of the Constitution written in Polish
The Polish constitution was one of several to reect Enlightenment inuences, in particular Rousseaus social
contract and Montesquieu's advocacy of a separation
and balance of powers between the three branches
of government and his advocacy of a bicameral
legislature.[7][32][45][73][74] Once the government was established, it aimed to ensure, in accordance with Article
V, that the integrity of the states, civil liberty, and social
order shall always remain in equilibrium.[32][73][74] According to Polish-American historian Jacek Jdruch, the
liberality of its provisions fell somewhere below [those
of] the French, above the Canadian, and left the Prussian
far behind, but did not equal the American Constitution".[65] King Stanisaw August Poniatowski said the new
constitution was founded principally on those of England and the United States of America, but avoiding the
faults and errors of both, and adapted as much as possible to the local and particular circumstances of the
country.[75] George Sanford said that the Polish constitution provided a constitutional monarchy close to the
English model of the time.[32]
Article I acknowledged the Roman Catholic faith as the
dominant religion, but guaranteed tolerance and freedom to all religions.[32][61] It was less progressive than the
16th-century Warsaw Confederation, and placed Poland
clearly within the Catholic sphere of inuence.[76] Ar-
Article V stated that all power in civil society [should

be] derived from the will of the people.[7] The constitution referred to the countrys citizens, which for the
rst time in Polish legislation was meant to include townspeople and peasants, as well as nobles.[7][70] The documents preamble and 11 individual articles introduced
the principle of popular sovereignty applied to the nobility and townspeople, and the separation of powers into
legislative (a bicameral Sejm), executive (the King and
the Guardians, the Guardians of the Laws being the
newly established top governmental entity) and judicial
branches.[32][73][83] It advanced the democratization of
the polity by limiting the excessive legal immunities and
political prerogatives of landless nobility.[66][77][80][84]
Legislative power, as dened in Article VI, rested with the
bicameral parliament (an elected Sejm and an appointed
Senate) and the king.[80][85] The Sejm met ordinarily
every two years and extraordinarily whenever required
by a national emergency.[80][85] Its lower chamberthe
Chamber of Deputies (Izba Poselska)comprised 204
deputies (2 from each powiat, 68 each from the provinces
of Greater Poland, Lesser Poland and the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania) and 21 plenipotentiaries of royal cities (7
from each province).[32][80] The royal chancellery was
to inform the sejmiks of the legislation it intended to
propose in advance, so that the deputies would have
time to prepare for the discussions.[85] The Sejms upper
chamberthe Chamber of Senators (Izba Senacka)
7
or clientele of local magnatesvoted as the magnates
bade them.[32][64] Now the voting right was tied to a property qualication: one had to own or lease land and pay
taxes, or be closely related to somebody who did, to
be eligible to vote.[65][87] 300,000 of 700,000 previously
eligible nobles were thus disfranchised, much to their
displeasure.[64] Voting rights were restored to landowners
who were in military service. They had lost these rights
in 1775.[64] Voting was limited to males of at least 18
years of age.[80] The eligible voters elected deputies to
local powiats, or county sejmiks, which elected deputies
to the General Sejm.[80]
Finally, Article VI explicitly abolished several institutional sources of government weakness and national anarchy, including the liberum veto (which was replaced
by a simple majority vote), confederations and confederated sejms, and the excessive inuence of sejmiks stemming from the previously binding nature of their instructions to their Sejm deputies.[32][65] The confederations
were declared contrary to the spirit of this constitution,
subversive of government and destructive of society.[88]
Thus the new constitution strengthened the powers of
the Sejm, moving the country towards a constitutional
monarchy.[32][65]
1791 printed edition
comprised between 130[80] and 132[32] (sources vary)

senators (voivodes, castellans, and bishops, as well as
governments ministers without the right to vote).[32][80]
The Senate was presided over by the king, who had one
vote which could be used to break ties.[80] The king and
all deputies had legislative initiative, and most matters
known as general laws, and divided into constitutional,
civil, criminal, and those for the institution of perpetual
taxesrequired a simple majority, rst from the lower
chamber, then from the upper one.[81] For the more
unique resolutions, such as for treaties of alliance, declarations of war and peace, ennoblements and increases
in national debt, a majority vote of both chambers voting jointly was needed.[81] The Senate (but not the king)
had a suspensive veto over the laws that the Sejm passed,
applicable until the next Sejm session, when it could be
overruled.[7][80]
Article VI also recognized the Prawo o sejmikach, the act
on regional assemblies (sejmiks) that had been passed on
March 24, 1791.[65][86] By reducing the enfranchisement
of the noble classes, this law introduced major changes
to the electoral ordinance.[64] Previously, all nobles had
been eligible to vote in sejmiks, which de facto meant that
many of the poorest, landless noblesknown as clients
Executive power, according to Article V and Article VII,

was in the hands of the king in his council, a cabinet of
ministers called the Guardians of the Laws (or Guard of
the Laws, Stra Praw).[88] The ministries could not create
or interpret the laws and all acts of the foreign ministry
were provisional and subject to the Sejms approval.[88]
The king presided over this council, which was composed of the Roman Catholic Primate of Polandwho
was also president of the Education Commissionand
ve ministers appointed by the king: a minister of police, a minister of the seal (internal aairs), a minister of
foreign aairs, a minister belli (of war), and a minister of
treasury.[80] Council members also includedwithout a
votethe Crown Prince, the Marshal of the Sejm, and
two secretaries.[88] This royal council descended from
similar councils that had functioned since King Henrys
Articles (1573), and from the recent Permanent Council.
Acts of the king required the countersignature of the respective minister.[89] A minister was required to cosign
a law if the king demanded it, unless that minister refused and all other ministers unanimously endorsed his
objection, in which case the king could withdraw the law
or press the issue by taking it before the parliament.[81]
The stipulation that the king, doing nothing of himself,
... shall be answerable for nothing to the nation, parallels the British constitutional principle that "The king can
do no wrong. (In both countries, the respective minister was responsible for the kings acts.)[89][90] The ministers were responsible to the Sejm, which could dismiss
them by a vote of no condence with a two-third majority
in both houses.[32][65][80] Ministers could be also held accountable by the Sejm court, and a simple majority vote
was sucient for the Sejm to demand that a minister face
8
an impeachment trial.[32][89] The king was the nations
commander-in-chief, commanding its armies; the institution of the hetman (high-ranking military ocial) was
not mentioned.[89] The king also had the right to grant
pardon except in cases of treason.[81] The decisions of the
royal council were carried out by commissions, including
the previously created Commission of National Education, and the new Commissions for Police, the Military
and the Treasury, whose members were elected by the
Sejm.[89]
3 FEATURES
ryski.[65][lower-alpha 5]
Discussed in Article VIII, the judiciary was separated
from the two other branches of the government,[80][89]
and was to be served by elective judges.[80] Courts of
rst instance existed in each voivodeship and were in constant session,[80] with judges elected by the regional sejmik assemblies.[81] Appellate tribunals were established
for the provinces, based on the reformed Crown Tribunal
and Lithuanian Tribunal.[80] The Sejm elected from its
deputies the judges for the Sejm court, a precursor to
the modern State Tribunal of Poland.[80][89] Referendary
courts were established in each province to hear the cases
of the peasantry.[89] Municipal courts, described in the
law on towns, complemented this system.[89]
Article IX covered procedures for regency, which should
be taken up jointly by the council of the Guardians,
headed by the Queen, or in her absence by the
Primate.[81][97] Article X stressed the importance of education of royal children and tasked the Commission
of National Education with this responsibility.[97] The
last article of the constitution, Article XI, concerned
the national standing army.[81] Said army was dened
as a defensive force dedicated solely to the nations
defense.[81] The army was to be increased in strength to
100,000 men.[98]
The copy of the Manuscript of the Constitution in Lithuanian

language[91]
The constitution also changed the government from

an elective monarchy in its unique Polish variant to a
hereditary monarchy.[32][65][92] This provision was intended to reduce the destructive, vying inuences of
foreign powers at each royal election.[93][lower-alpha 4] The
royal dynasty was elective, and if it were to die out a
new one would be chosen by the Nation.[88] The king
held the throne by the grace of God and the will of
the Nation, and all authority derives from the will of
the Nation.[32][80] The institution of pacta conventa was
preserved.[89] On Stanisaw Augusts death the Polish
throne would become hereditary and pass to Frederick
Augustus I of Saxony of the House of Wettin, which
had provided Polands two most recent elective kings before Stanisaw August.[65][89] This provision was contingent upon Frederic Augustus consent, but he declined
when the oer was presented to him by Adam Czarto-
To further enhance the Commonwealths integration

and security, the constitution abolished the erstwhile
union of Poland and Lithuania in favor of a unitary
state.[48][99] Its full establishment, supported by Stanisaw
August and Koltaj, was opposed by many Lithuanian deputies.[99] As a compromise, the Grand Duchy
of Lithuania received numerous privileges guaranteeing its continued existence.[99] Related acts included the
Deklaracja Stanw Zgromadzonych (Declaration of the
Assembled Estates) of May 5, 1791, conrming the Government Act adopted two days earlier, and the Zarczenie Wzajemne Obojga Narodw (Reciprocal Guarantee
of Two Nations, i.e., of the Crown of the Kingdom of
Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) of October
22, 1791, arming the unity and indivisibility of Poland
and the Grand Duchy within a single state and their equal
representation in state-governing bodies.[75][100] The Reciprocal Guarantee strengthened the PolishLithuanian
union while keeping many federal aspects of the state
intact.[99][101][102]
The Constitution of the 3rd May was also translated into
Lithuanian, that marked the signicant change in the upper society way of thinking, marked the eorts of the
modernization the the State.[103][104][105]
The Constitution remained to the last a work in progress.
The provisions of the Government Act were detailed in a
number of laws passed in May and June 1791: on sejm
courts (two acts of May 13), the Guardians of the Laws
(June 1), the national police commission (a ministry, June
17) and municipal administration (June 24). The constitution included provisions for amendments, which were
9
to be dealt with by an extraordinary Sejm held every
25 years.[65][85] Its co-author Hugo Kotaj announced
that work was underway on an economic constitution ...
guaranteeing all rights of property [and] securing protection and honor to all manner of labor ....[106] A third
planned basic law was mentioned by Kotaj; a moral
constitution, most likely a Polish analog to the United
States Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the Citizen.[106] The constitution
called for the preparation of a new civil and criminal code,
tentatively called the Stanisaw August Code.[97][107] The
King also planned a reform improving the situation of the
Jews.[107]
Aftermath: war and the nal two

partitions
Main article: PolishRussian War of 1792

The constitution remained in eect for little over a
year before being overthrown by Russian armies allied
with conservative Polish nobility in the PolishRussian
War of 1792, also known as the War in Defense of
the Constitution.[69] With the wars between Turkey and
Russia and Sweden and Russia having ended, Empress
Catherine was furious over the adoption of the document, which she believed threatened Russian inuence
in Poland.[60][61][108] Russia had viewed Poland as a de
facto protectorate.[109] The worst possible news have
arrived from Warsaw: the Polish king has become almost sovereign was the reaction of one of Russias chief
foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko, when he
learned of the new constitution.[110] The contacts of Polish reformers with the Revolutionary French National Assembly were seen by Polands neighbors as evidence of
a revolutionary conspiracy and a threat to the absolute
monarchies.[111][112] The Prussian statesman Ewald von
Hertzberg expressed the fears of European conservatives:
The Poles have given the coup de grce to the Prussian
monarchy by voting a constitution, elaborating that a
strong Commonwealth would likely demand the return of
the lands Prussia acquired in the First Partition.[110][113]
Magnates who had opposed the constitution draft
from the start, Franciszek Ksawery Branicki, Stanisaw
Szczsny Potocki, Seweryn Rzewuski, and Szymon and
Jzef Kossakowski, asked Tsarina Catherine to intervene
and restore their privilegesthe Cardinal Laws abolished
under the new statute.[69] To that end these magnates
formed the Targowica Confederation.[69] The Confederations proclamation, prepared in St. Petersburg in January
1792, criticized the constitution for contributing to contagion of democratic ideas following the fatal examples
set in Paris.[114][115] It asserted that The parliament ...
has broken all fundamental laws, swept away all liberties
of the gentry and on the third of May 1791 turned into
a revolution and a conspiracy.[116] The Confederates declared an intention to overcome this revolution. We can
do nothing but turn trustingly to Tsarina Catherine, a distinguished and fair empress, our neighboring friend and
ally, who respects the nations need for well-being and
always oers it a helping hand, they wrote.[116]
Russian armies entered Poland and Lithuania, starting the
PolishRussian War of 1792.[69] The Sejm voted to increase the army of the Commonwealth to 100,000 men,
but owing to insucient time and funds this number was
never achieved and soon abandoned even as a goal.[69][117]
The Polish King and the reformers could eld only a
37,000-man army, many of them untested recruits.[118]
This army, under the command of Jzef Poniatowski
and Tadeusz Kociuszko, defeated or fought to a draw
the Russians on several occasions, but in the end, a defeat loomed inevitable.[69] Despite Polish requests, Prussia refused to honor its alliance obligations.[119] Stanisaw
Augusts attempts at negotiations with Russia proved
futile.[120] As the front lines kept shifting to the west
and in July 1792 Warsaw was threatened with siege by
the Russians, the King came to believe that victory was
impossible against the numerically superior enemy, and
that surrender was the only alternative to total defeat.[120]
Having received assurances from the Russian ambassador
Yakov Bulgakov that no territorial changes will occur, the
Guardians of the Laws cabinet voted 8:4 to surrender.[120]
On July 24, 1792, King Stanisaw August Poniatowski
joined the Targowica Confederation, as the Empress had
demanded.[69] The Polish Army disintegrated.
Many reform leaders, believing their cause was for now
lost, went into self-imposed exile. Some hoped that
Stanisaw August would be able to negotiate an acceptable compromise with the Russians, as he had done
in the past.[120] But the King had not saved the Commonwealth and neither had the Targowica Confederates, who governed the country for a short while. To
their surprise, the Grodno Sejm, bribed or intimidated
by the Russian troops, enacted the Second Partition of
Poland.[69][69][115][121] On November 23, 1793, it concluded its deliberations under duress, annulling the constitution and acceding to the Second Partition.[122][123]
Russia took 250,000 square kilometres (97,000 sq mi),
while Prussia took 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq
mi).[121] The Commonwealth now comprised no more
than 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi).[124] What
was left of the Commonwealth was merely a small buer
state with a puppet king, and Russian garrisons keeping
an eye on the reduced Polish army.[124][125]
For a year and a half, Polish patriots waited while planning an insurrection.[121] On March 24, 1794 in Krakw,
Tadeusz Kociuszko declared what has come to be known
as the Kociuszko Uprising.[121] On May 7, he issued the
Proclamation of Poaniec (Uniwersa Poaniecki), granting freedom to the peasants and ownership of land to all
who fought in the insurrection. Revolutionary tribunals
administered summary justice to those deemed traitors
10
to the Commonwealth.[121] After initial victories at the

Battle of Racawice (April 4), the capture of Warsaw
(April 18) and the Wilno (April 22)the Uprising was
crushed when the forces of Russia, Austria and Prussia
joined in a military intervention.[126] Historians consider
the Uprisings defeat to have been a foregone conclusion
in face of the superiority in numbers and resources of
the three invading powers. The defeat of Kociuszkos
forces led in 1795 to the third and nal partition of the
Commonwealth.[126]
5
5.1
Legacy
Historical signicance
LEGACY
and the rise of democracy.[5][128] Irish statesman Edmund

Burke described it as the noblest benet received by
any nation at any time ... Stanislas II has earned a place
among the greatest kings and statesmen in history.[73][93]
It was the rst to follow the 1788 ratication of the United
States Constitution.[128][129] Poland and the United States,
though geographically distant, displayed similarities in
their approaches to the design of political systems.[128]
The May 3 Constitution has been called the second constitution in world history.[4][58] American expert on constitutional law Albert Blaustein called it the worlds
second national constitution,[2] and American journalist Bill Moyers wrote that it was Europes rst codied national constitution (and the second oldest in the
world)".[3] British historian Norman Davies calls it the
rst constitution of its type in Europe.[5][lower-alpha 2] Together with the Great Sejm, it has been subject to a large
body of works by Polish scholars, starting with the stilloften cited 19th-century works of Walerian Kalinka and
Wadysaw Smoleski, and continued in the 20th century
by Bogusaw Lenodorski.[45]
The documents ocial name was Ustawa Rzdowa
(Government Act), where government referred to
the political system.[58] In the Commonwealth, the term
constitution (Polish: konstytucja) had denoted all the
legislation, of whatever character, that had been passed
by a Sejm.[130]
5.2 Holiday
Unnished Temple of Divine Providence, in Warsaws Botanical
Gardens, at Ujazdw Avenue; the cornerstone was laid by King
Stanisaw II August and his brother, Primate Micha Jerzy Poniatowski, on May 3, 1792, to commemorate the Constitution of
May 3, 1791.
The constitution has been both idealized and criticized

for either not going far enough or for being too radical.[74]
As it remained in force for only 18 months and 3 weeks,
its inuence was in any case limited.[126] For generations,
the memory of the constitutionrecognized by political scientists as a progressive document for its time
helped keep alive Polish aspirations for an independent
and just society, and continued to inform the eorts of
its authors descendants.[7][32] Bronisaw Dembiski, a
Polish constitutional scholar, stated a century later that,
The miracle of the Constitution did not save the state
but did save the nation.[7] In Poland it is mythologized,
and viewed as a national symbol and the culmination of
enlightenment in Polish history and culture.[32][45] In the
words of two of its co-authors, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo
Kotaj, it was the last will and testament of the expiring Country.[lower-alpha 1][1] The May 3 anniversary of
its adoption has been observed as Polands most important civil holiday since Poland regained independence in
1918.[127]
Medal commemorating the Constitution of May 3, 1791, issued

that year
Main article: May 3rd Constitution Day
May 3 was declared a Polish holiday (Constitution Day

wito Konstytucji 3 Maja) on May 5, 1791.[131] The holThe constitution was a milestone in the history of law iday was banned during the partitions of Poland but re-
11
instated in April 1919 under the Second Polish Republicthe rst holiday ocially introduced in the newly
independent country.[127][131][132] It was again outlawed
during World War II by both the Nazi and Soviet occupiers. It was celebrated in Polish cities in May 1945, although in a mostly spontaneous manner.[127] The 1946
anti-communist demonstrations did not endear it to the
Polish communists, and it competed for attention with
the communist-endorsed May 1 Labor Day celebrations
in the Polish Peoples Republic; this led to its rebranding as Democratic Party Day and removal from the list
of national holidays by 1951.[127][131] Until 1989, May
3 was a frequent occasion for anti-government and anticommunist protests.[127] May 3 was restored as an ocial Polish holiday in April 1990 after the fall of communism.[131] In 2007, May 3 was declared a Lithuanian
national holiday.[133] Polish-American pride has been celebrated on the same date, for instance in Chicago, where
since 1982 Poles have marked it with festivities and the
annual Polish Constitution Day Parade.[134]
Notes
[1] Machnikowski uses the word Fatherland.[1] The English

translation of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, by
Christopher Kasparek, reproduced in Wikisource, renders "ojczyzna" as country (the usual English-language
equivalent), e.g. at the end of section II, The Landed
Nobility. The English cognate of the Polish "ojczyzna"
is "fatherland" both words are calques of the Latin "patria, itself derived from "pater" (father).
[2] The claims of rst and second constitution have been
disputed, particularly as dierent scholars dene the word
constitution dierently. Both the U.S. and Polish constitutions were preceded by earlier ones, including some also
termed constitutions, for example, the Corsican Constitution of 1755.[6] See history of the constitution.
[3] The contemporaneous United States Constitution sanctioned the continuation of slavery. Thus neither of the
two constitutions enfranchised all its adult male population: the U.S. Constitution excluded the slaves; the Polish
Constitution the peasants.[81]
[4] Stanisaw August had been elected as king in 1764 thanks
to the signicant support of his ex-mistress, Russian
Tsarina Catherine the Great.[94] The Russians spent about
2.5 million rubles to support his election, Poniatowskis
supporters and opponents engaged in some military posturing and even minor clashes, and in the end, the Russian army was deployed only a few miles from the election
sejm, which met at Wola near Warsaw.[95][96]
[5] In 1807, Napoleon persuaded Frederic Augustus to
become the king of the Duchy of Warsaw established by the French Emperor on lands of the former
Commonwealth.[48]
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stytucji 3 Maja, stanowice cz nowych paktw kon978-0-521-41239-1.
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cyjny charakter Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodw [The
last was the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations at ConISBN 978-0-231-12817-9. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
stitution of 3 May, forming a part of the new pacta conventa according to the law historian Bogusaw Lenodor- [113] Carl L. Bucki (May 3, 1996). Constitution Day: May 3,
1791. Polish Academic Information Center. Retrieved
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ter of the Commonwealth of Both Nations.
[102] Bardach, Juliusz (1992). The Constitution of May Third [114] Robert Howard Lord (1915). The second partition of
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[103] Tumelis, Juozas (1978). Gegus Treiosios konstitucijos ir Ketveri met seimo nutarim lietuvikas vertimas. Lietuvos istorijos metratis (in Lithuanian) (Vilnius:
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[115] Michal Kopeek (2006). Discourses of collective identity

in Central and Southeast Europe (17701945): texts and
commentaries. Central European University Press. pp.
282284. ISBN 978-963-7326-52-3. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
[116] Michal Kopeek (2006). Discourses of collective identity

in Central and Southeast Europe (17701945): texts and
commentaries. Central European University Press. pp.
[105] Tomas Baranauskas: K Lietuvai reik Gegus 3-osios
284285. ISBN 978-963-7326-52-3. Retrieved SeptemKonstitucija? Vienalaikis Konstitucijos vertimas lietuber 22, 2011.
vi kalb yra reikmingas ms istorijos faktas Gegus
3-osios Konstitucija buvo pirmasis valstybs statymas, [117] Jzef Andrzej Gierowski (1986). Historia Polski, 1764
netrukus po jos primimo iverstas lietuvi kalb. Nuo
1864 [History of Poland, 17641864] (in Polish). Pastia prasideda lietuvi kalbos kelias valstybs kanceliarwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. pp. 7882. ISBN 978ij. Lietuvikai atsiaukimus jau leido Kosciukos suk83-01-03732-1. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
ilimo vyriausyb, tad lietuvi kalbos vartojimo poreikis
tarp Konstitucijos alinink buvo akivaizdus. At the [118] Juliusz Bardach; Bogusaw Lenodorski; Micha Pietrzak
same time, the Constitution was translated into Lithua(1993). Historia ustroju i prawa polskiego [History of the
nian language. The Constitution was the rst state law,
issued in Lithuanian language. Since then, the journey
978-83-01-11026-0.
of Lithuanian language into the State Chancellery began:
documents of Kosciuszko uprising [in Vilnius and else- [119] Jerzy ojek (1986). Geneza i obalenie Konstytucji 3 maja
[Genesis and Fall of the Constitution of 3 May] (in Polish).
where] were issued in Lithuanian and the need of using
Wydawn. Lubelskie. pp. 325326. ISBN 978-83-222Lithuanian language among the proponents of the Consti0313-2.
tution was obvious.
[104] Old Lithuanian texts
16

Polski Sownik Biograczny (in Polish) 41. Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagielloskiego. p. 628.
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[123] David Pickus (2001). Dying With an Enlightening Fall:
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[124] Richard C. Frucht (2005). Eastern Europe: an introduction to the people, lands, and culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 16.
ISBN 978-1-57607-800-6. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
[125] Lynne Olson; Stanley Cloud (September 16, 2003). A
question of honor: the Kociuszko Squadron : the forgotten
heroes of World War II. Knopf. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-37541197-7. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
[127] Rafa Kowalczyk; ukasz Kamiski (May 3, 2008).
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Polish). Polskie Radio Online. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
[128] John Marko (1996). Waves of democracy: social movements and political change. Pine Forge Press. p. 121.
ISBN 978-0-8039-9019-7. Retrieved May 30, 2011. The
rst European country to follow the U.S. example was
Poland in 1791.
[129] Isaac Kramnick (1987). Introduction. In James Madison; Alexander Hamilton; John Jay. The Federalist papers.
Penguin. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-14-044495-7. Retrieved
May 30, 2011.
[130] Jerzy Kowalski (2009). Konstytucja Federacji Rosyjskiej
a Rosyjska i Europejska tradycja konstytucyjna [Constitution of the Russian Federation and Russian and European
Constitutional Tradition] (in Polish). PWP Iuris. p. 136.
ISBN 978-83-89363-69-5. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
[131] Konstytucja 3 Maja rys historyczny [Constitution of
May 3 Historical Overview] (PDF) (in Polish). City of
Warsaw. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
[132] Iwona Pogorzelska (2002). Prezentacja na podstawie
artykuu Romany Guldon Pamitki Konstytucji 3 Maja
przechowywane w zasobie Archiwum Pastwowego w
Kielcach."" [Presentation on the basis of Romana Guldons article Relics of Constitution of May 3 kept in the
collections of National Archives in Kielce] (in Polish). Almanach Historyczny, T. 4, Kielce. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
[133] Rok 2007: Przegld wydarze" [Year 2007: Overview of
Events] (in Polish). Tygnodnik Wileszczyzny. February
2008. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
[134] Thousands Attend Polish Constitution Day Parade.
CBS. May 7, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
8 FURTHER READING
8 Further reading
Blackburn, Edwin C. (1991). Stanislaus Leszczynski and the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791.
The Polish Review 36 (4): 397405. JSTOR
25778592.
Butterwick, Richard (2005). Political Discourses
of the Polish Revolution, 178892. The English Historical Review 120 (487): 695731.
doi:10.1093/ehr/cei126. JSTOR 3489412.
Duzinkiewicz, Janusz. Fateful Transformations:
The Four Years Parliament and the Constitution of
May 3, 1791. New York: Columbia University
Press. ISBN 0-88033-265-4.
Fiszman, Samuel (1997). Constitution and Reform
in Eighteenth-Century Poland: The Constitution of 3
May 1791. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
ISBN 0-253-33317-2.
Fried, Daniel (2009). Poland, America, and the
Arc of History. The Polish Review 54 (2): 141
146. JSTOR 25779807.
Gierowski, Jzef Andrzej (1996). The PolishLithuanian Commonwealth in the XVIIIth Century:
From Anarchy to Well-Organised State. Translated
from Polish by Henry Leeming. Krakow: Polish
Academy of Sciences. ISBN 83-86956-15-1.
Hoskins, Janina W. (1976). "'A Lesson Which All
Our Countrymen Should Study': Jeerson Views
Poland. The Quarterly Journal of the Library of
Congress 33 (1): 2946. JSTOR 29781662.
Kadziela, ukasz; Strybel, Robert (1994). The
1794 Kociuszko Insurrection. The Polish Review
39 (4): 387392. JSTOR 27920649.
Lukowski, Jerzy (1999). The Partitions of Poland:
1772, 1793, 1795. London: Longman. ISBN 0582-29274-3.
Lukowski, Jerzy (2004). Political Ideas among
the Polish Nobility in the Eighteenth Century (To
1788)". The Slavonic and East European Review 82
(1): 126. JSTOR 4213847.
Murphy, Curtis G. (2012). Burghers versus
Bureaucrats: Enlightened Centralism, the Royal
Towns, and the Case of the Propinacja Law in
Poland-Lithuania, 17761793. Slavic Review 71
(2): 385409. doi:10.5612/slavicreview.71.2.0385.
JSTOR 10.5612/slavicreview.71.2.0385.
Polska (1985). Ustawodawstwo Sejmu Wielkiego z
1791 r [Legislation of the Great Sejm of 1791] (in
Polish). Polska Akad. Nauk, Bibl. Krnicka. Retrieved June 18, 2012. compilation of facsimile
reprints of 1791 legislation pertinent to the Constitution of May 3, 1791.
17
Emanuel Rostworowski (1985). Maj 1791-maj
1792rok monarchii konstytucyjnej [May 1791
May 1792: the Year of Constitutional Monarchy]
(in Polish). Zamek Krlewski w Warszawie. ISBN
978-83-00-00961-9. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
Stone, Daniel (1981). Daniel Hailes and the Polish
Constitution of May 3, 1791. The Polish Review 26
(2): 5163. JSTOR 25777821.
Stone, Daniel (1993). The First (and Only) Year of
the May 3 Constitution. Canadian Slavonic Papers
35 (1/2): 6986. JSTOR 40869459.
External links
Photos of original document
New constitution of the government of Poland, established by the revolution, the third of May, 1791.
London : printed for J. Debrett, 1791. - original old
book, on the free access online library Polona
Polishconstitution.org: Site about the May 3 Constitution that includes a partial English translation by
Christopher Kasparek.
18
10
10
10.1
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Constitution of May 3, 1791

For the painting by Jan Matejko, see Constitution of 3

Russia and the Targowica Confederation of anti-reform

Jan Matejko, Constitution of 3 May, 1791, 1891

The Constitution of 3 May 1791 (Polish: Konstytucja

1.1 End of the Golden Age

including another pretender to the Polish throne, King

1.2 Early reforms

Rejtan, by Matejko; in September 1773, Tadeusz Rejtan (lower

As the Sejm failed to implement sucient reforms, the

From his election, King Stanisaw August Poniatowski worked to

Royal Castle Senate Chamber, where the Constitution was

The rst of the three successive 18th-century partitions

ticle II conrmed many old privileges of the nobility,

Original manuscript of the Constitution written in Polish

Article V stated that all power in civil society [should

1791 printed edition

comprised between 130[80] and 132[32] (sources vary)

Executive power, according to Article V and Article VII,

The copy of the Manuscript of the Constitution in Lithuanian

The constitution also changed the government from

To further enhance the Commonwealths integration

Aftermath: war and the nal two

Main article: PolishRussian War of 1792

to the Commonwealth.[121] After initial victories at the

and the rise of democracy.[5][128] Irish statesman Edmund

The constitution has been both idealized and criticized

Medal commemorating the Constitution of May 3, 1791, issued

Main article: May 3rd Constitution Day

May 3 was declared a Polish holiday (Constitution Day

[1] Machnikowski uses the word Fatherland.[1] The English

[29] Jzef Andrzej Gierowski (1986). Historia Polski, 1764

[17] Tanisha M. Fazal (October 27, 2011). State Death: The

[27] John P. LeDonne (1997). The Russian empire and the

[28] Krzysztof Bauer (1991). Uchwalenie i obrona Konstytucji

[42] Matthew P. Romaniello; Charles Lipp (March 1, 2011).

[43] Jerzy Lukowski (August 3, 2010). Disorderly liberty: the

[56] Janusz Justyski (1991). The Origin of human rights:

[83] Stanisaw Grodziski (1999). Polska w czasach przeomu:

[70] Jzef Andrzej Gierowski (1986). Historia Polski, 1764

[84] Joseph Kasparek-Obst (June 1, 1980). The constitutions

[71] Poland; Jerzy Kowecki (1991). Konstytucja 3 Maja

[85] Jerzy Lukowski (August 3, 2010). Disorderly liberty: the

[72] Stanisaw Grodziski (1999). Polska w czasach przeomu:

[86] Joseph Kasparek-Obst (June 1, 1980). The constitutions

[76] Hillar, Marian (1992). The Polish Constitution of May

[89] Jerzy Lukowski (August 3, 2010). Disorderly liberty: the

[77] Jerzy Lukowski (August 3, 2010). Disorderly liberty: the

[90] Joseph Kasparek-Obst (June 1, 1980). The constitutions

[78] Jzef Andrzej Gierowski (1986). Historia Polski, 1764

[91] Old Lithuanian texts

[115] Michal Kopeek (2006). Discourses of collective identity

[116] Michal Kopeek (2006). Discourses of collective identity

[120] Jerzy Michalski (2011). Stanisaw August Poniatowski.

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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Constitution of May 3, 1791 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791?oldid=676679940 Contributors:

File:Chamber_of_Polish_Senate_in_Warsaw_Royal_Castle.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/

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