NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Constitution of the Third May

The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791 (Polish: Konstytucja 3 Maja) was Europe's first modern codified national constitution, and the world's second after the United States Constitution (which was written in 1787 and came into force in 1789). It was instituted by the Government Act (Polish: Ustawa rządowa) adopted on that date by the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the federative Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility (szlachta) and placed the peasants under the protection of the government,^{[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791#endnote_Chlopi)} thus mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom. The Constitution abolished pernicious parliamentary institutions such as the liberum veto, which at one time had placed the sejm at the mercy of any deputy who might choose, or be bribed by an interest or foreign power, to undo all the legislation that had been passed by that sejm. The May 3rd Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's reactionary magnates, with a more egalitarian and democratic constitutional monarchy. Source: from Polish wiki: http://pl. ... Source: from Polish wiki: http://pl. ... Categories: Stub | Polish painters | 1838 births | 1893 deaths ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Binomial name Mustela erminea Linnaeus, 1758 The Stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae. ... St. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... A deputy can be: In politics, a member of many national legislatures, particularly those legislative bodies styled Chambers of Deputies. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... For linguistic codification, see codification (linguistics). ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... 1787 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... The debating chamber or hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A federation (from the Latin fœdus, covenant) is a state comprised of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as states) united by a central (federal) government. ... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Categories: 1911 Britannica | Historical stubs | Feudalism ... Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. ... Liberum veto (Latin: free veto) was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that allowed any deputy to a Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify all legislation already passed at it. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... A deputy can be: In politics, a member of many national legislatures, particularly those legislative bodies styled Chambers of Deputies. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... Legislation refers 1. ... Anarchy (New Latin anarchia) is a term that has several usages, some of which may be contradictory. ... A reactionary (sometimes: reactionist) is someone who seeks to restore conditions to those of a previous era. ... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ... What is Egalitarianism? Egalitarianism is the moral doctrine that equality ought to prevail among some group along some dimension. ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ... A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. ...

The adoption of the May 3rd Constitution provoked the active hostility of the Polish Commonwealth's neighbors. In the War in Defense of the Constitution, Poland was betrayed by its Prussian ally Frederick William II and defeated by the Imperial Russia of Catherine the Great, allied with the Targowica Confederation, a cabal of Polish magnates who opposed reforms that might weaken their influence. Despite the defeat, and the subsequent Second Partition of Poland, the May 3rd Constitution influenced later democratic movements in the world. It remained, after the demise of the Polish Republic in 1795, over the next 123 years of Polish partitions, a beacon in the struggle to restore Polish sovereignty. In the words of two of its co-authors, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj, it was "the last will and testament of the expiring Fatherland." This conflict took place in 1792 between Poland and her ally the Kingdom of Prussia, on one side, and the Russian Empire on the other. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Frederick William II (September 25, 1744 - November 16, 1797), king of Prussia, was known in German as Friedrich Wilhelm II. Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William was the son of Augustus William (the second son of King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia) and of Louise Amalie of Brunswick-L... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... H.I.M. Ekaterina II Aleksejevna the Great, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death... Categories: Stub | Polish confederations ... The Partitions of Poland (Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Noble Family Potocki Coat of Arms Piława Parents Eustachy Potocki Marianna Kątska Consorts Elżbieta Lubomirska Children with Elżbieta Lubomirska Krystyna Potocka Date of Birth February 28, 1750 Place of Birth Radzyn Podlaski Date of Death August 30, 1809 Place of Death Vienna Count Roman Ignacy Franciszek Potocki (generally known as... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

History

Background

The May 3rd Constitution was a response to the increasingly perilous situation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, only a century and a half earlier a major European power and indeed the largest state on the continent. Already two centuries before the May 3rd Constitution, King Zygmunt III's court preacher, the Jesuit Piotr Skarga, had famously condemned the individual and collective weaknesses of the Commonwealth's citizens. Likewise, in the same period, writers and philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski and Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki, and Jan Zamoyski's egzekucja praw (Execution-of-the-Laws) reform movement, had advocated reforms. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Reign in Poland From September 18, 1587 until April 19, 1632 Reign in Sweden From November 17, 1592 until July 24, 1599 Elected in Poland On September 18, 1587 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation in Poland On December 27, 1587 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Coronation... Preacher is a colloquial term for a clergyman, in particular a local priest, pastor or Minister; one who preaches. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Skargas Sermon, by Jan Matejko, 1862, oil on canvas, 224 x 397 cm. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now usually a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (Andreus Fricius Modrevius) (ca. ... Wawrzyniec Grzymala Goslicki, Laurentius Grimaldius Gosliscius, 1530-1607, was Polish political thinker and philosopher most known from the book De optimo senatore, 1568 (The Accomplished senator, English translation 1598). ... Noble Family Zamoyski Coat of Arms Jelita Parents Stanisław Zamoyski Anna Herburt Consorts Anna Ossolińska Krystyna Radziwiłł Gryzelda Batory Barbara Tarnowska Children with Barbara Tarnowska Tomasz Zamoyski Date of Birth March 19, 1542 Place of Birth Skokówka, Poland Date of Death June 3, 1605 Place of Death Zamość, Poland Jan... Reform can refer to: Reform (think tank) Reform, Alabama Reform Judaism Reform movement Reform Party (disambiguation page) See also: Reformation, Reformed This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

By the early 17th century, the magnates of Poland and Lithuania were in near-total control of the Commonwealth — or rather, they managed to ensure that no reforms be carried out that might weaken their privileged status. They looked after their own interests while neglecting the commonweal. They spent lavishly on banquets, drinking-bouts and other assorted amusements, while the peasants languished in abysmal conditions and the city dwellers were hemmed in by an array of anti-municipal legislation and fared much worse than their thriving Western contemporaries. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... The term Western world can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

Many historians hold that a major cause of the Commonwealth's downfall was the peculiar institution of the liberum veto ("free veto"), which since 1652 had in principle permitted any Sejm deputy to nullify all the legislation that had been adopted by that Sejm. Thus deputies bribed by magnates or foreign powers, or simply benighted and content to believe that they were living in some kind of "Golden Age," for over a century paralyzed the Commonwealth's government. The threat of the liberum veto could, however, be overridden by the establishment of a "confederated sejm," which operated immune from the liberum veto. The Four-Year, or "Great," Sejm of 1788–1792, which would adopt the Constitution of May 3, 1791, was such a confederated sejm; and it was due only to that fact that it was able to put through so radical a piece of legislation. Liberum veto (Latin: free veto) was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that allowed any deputy to a Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify all legislation already passed at it. ... Events April 6 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope, and founded Cape Town. ... Confederated sejm (Polish: sejm skonfederowany) was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

By the reign (1764–1795) of Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, the Age of Enlightenment had begun to take root in Poland. The King proceeded with cautious reforms. Fiscal and military "commissions" (ministries) were established. A national customs tariff was instituted. Thoroughgoing constitutional reforms were discussed. However, the idea of reforms in the Commonwealth was viewed with growing suspicion by neighboring countries, which were content with the Commonwealth's impotence and abhorred the thought of a powerful — and more democratic — country hard by their borders. 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... For other persons named Stanisław Poniatowski, see Stanisław Poniatowski. ... The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a larger period which includes the Age of Reason. ... A tariff is a tax placed on imported and/or exported goods, sometimes called a customs duty. ...

Accordingly Empress Catherine the Great of Russia and King Frederick the Great of Prussia provoked a conflict between Sejm conservatives and the King over civil rights for religious minorities. Catherine and Frederick declared their support for the Polish nobility (szlachta) and their "liberties," and by October 1767 Russian troops had assembled outside the Polish capital, Warsaw. The King and his adherents, in face of superior Russian military force, were left with little choice but to bow to Russian demands and accept the five "eternal and invariable" principles which Catherine vowed to "protect in the name of Poland's liberties": the free election of kings; the right of liberum veto; the right to renounce allegiance to, and raise rebellion against, the king (rokosz); and the szlachta's exclusive right to hold office and land, and the landowner's power of life and death over his peasants. Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Look up Civil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Civil is derived from the Latin word civilis, from civis (citizen). Used as an adjective, it may describe several fields, concepts, and people: Civil death Civil defense Civil disobedience Civil engineering Civil law Civil liberties Civil libertarianism Civil marriage Civil... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... Election of Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki as king of Poland at Wola, outside Warsaw ( 1669). ... Liberum veto (Latin: free veto) was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that allowed any deputy to a Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify all legislation already passed at it. ... Rokosz was a privilege of szlachta in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to refuse the Kings orders and legally act against him if the monarch were to break the laws and privileges of the szlachta. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ...

Not everyone in the Commonwealth agreed with King Stanisław August's decision. On February 29, 1768, several magnates, including Kazimierz Pułaski, vowing to oppose Russian intervention, declared Stanisław August a "lackey of Russia and Catherine" and formed a confederation at the town of Bar. The Bar Confederation opened a civil war with the goal of overthrowing the King and fought on until 1772, when overwhelmed by Russian intervention. February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For things named to honor Kazimierz Pułaski, see: Pulaski (disambiguation). ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... Bar or BAR can refer to several things: a pole or stick, often made of wood or metal, sometimes used to mark a height, such as in high jump, or as a handrail, such as in ballet or Dance Dance Revolution, or as an obstacle. ... The Confederation of Bar (1768–1776), a grouping of Polish szlachta, formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of Poland against the aggressions of the Russian government as represented by her representative at Warsaw, Prince Nikolai Repnin. ... 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The Bar Confederation's defeat set the scene for the next act in the unfolding drama. On August 5, 1772, at St. Petersburg, Russia, the three neighboring powers, Russia, Prussia and Austria, signed the First Partition treaty. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was to be divested of over 30,000 square miles of territory, leaving her 74,000 square miles. This was justified on grounds of anarchy in the Commonwealth and the latter's refusal to cooperate with its neighbors' efforts to restore order. The three powers demanded that the Sejm ratify this first partition, otherwise threatening further partitions. King Stanisław August yielded to duress and on April 19, 1773, called the Sejm into session. Only 102 deputies attended; the rest, aware of the King's decision, refused. Despite protests, notably by the deputy Tadeusz Rejtan, the First Partition of Poland was ratified. Download high resolution version (2000x1568, 268 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2000x1568, 268 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Tadeusz Rejtan (also in the Old Polish spelling: Tadeusz Reytan) (1742-1780) was a Polish nobleman, a member of confederation of Bar, Member of Sejm for the Nowogród constituency. ...

The first of the three successive 18th-century partitions of Commonwealth territory by Russia, Prussia and Austria that would eventually blot Poland from the map of Europe, had made it clear to progressive minds that the Commonwealth must either reform or perish. Even before the First Partition, a Sejm deputy had been sent to ask the French philosophes Gabriel Bonnet de Mably and Jean-Jacques Rousseau to draw up tentative constitutions for a new Poland. Mably had submitted his recommendations in 1770–1771; Rousseau had finished his in 1772, when the First Partition was already underway. The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800 in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... The Philosophes (French for Philosophers) were a group of French thinkers of the 18th century Enlightenment. ... Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a Franco-Swiss philosopher, writer, political theorist, and self-taught composer of The Age of Enlightenment. ... 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Supported by King Stanisław August, a new wave of reforms were introduced. The most important included the establishment (1773) of a Commission of National Education — the first ministry of education in the world. New schools were opened in the cities and in the countryside, uniform textbooks were printed, teachers were educated, poor students were provided scholarships. The Commonwealth's military was modernized; a standing army was formed. Economic and commercial reforms, previously shunned as unimportant by the szlachta, were introduced, and the development of industries was encouraged. The peasants were given some rights. A new Police ministry fought corruption. Everything from the road system to prisons was reformed. A new executive body was created, the Permanent Council (Polish: Rada Nieustająca), comprising five ministries. 1773 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (KEN, Polish for Commission of National Education) was the central educational authority in Poland, created by the Sejm and king Stanisław August Poniatowski on October 14, 1773. ... Several countries have government departments named the Ministry of Education Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan) Ministry of Education (India) Ministry of Education (New Zealand) Ministry of Education (Israel) Ministry of Education (Malaysia) Ministry of Education (Singapore) See also: Minister of Education, Department of Education This is... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ...

In 1776 the Sejm commissioned Chancellor Andrzej Zamoyski to draft a new legal code. By 1780, under Zamoyski's direction, a code (Zbiór praw sądowych) had been produced. It would have strengthened royal power, made all officials answerable to the Sejm, placed the clergy and their finances under state supervision, and deprived landless szlachta of many of their legal immunities. Zamoyski's progressive legal code, containing elements of constitutional reform, failed to be adopted by the Sejm. Download high resolution version (1188x762, 653 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (1188x762, 653 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Sejm Czteroletni (Four-Year Sejm, also known as Sejm Wielki, the Great Sejm) was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth held in Warsaw, inaugurated in 1788. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... This article is about the year 1776. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ...

Drafting and Adoption

Events in the world now played into the reformers' hands. Poland's neigbors were too occupied with wars — especially with the Ottoman Empire — and with their own internal troubles to intervene forcibly in Poland. A major opportunity for reform seemed to present itself during the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" of 1788–1792, which opened on October 6, 1788, and from 1790 — in the words of the May 3rd Constitution's preamble — met "in dual number," the newly elected Sejm deputies having joined the earlier-established confederated sejm. While a new alliance between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussia seemed to provide security against Russian intervention, King Stanisław August drew closer to leaders of the reform-minded Patriotic Party. A new Constitution was drafted by the King, with contributions from Stanisław Małachowski, Ignacy Potocki, Hugo Kołłątaj, Stanisław Staszic, the King's Italian secretary Scipione Piattoli, and others. The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... Sejm Czteroletni (Four-Year Sejm, also known as Sejm Wielki, the Great Sejm) was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth held in Warsaw, inaugurated in 1788. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in Leap years). ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Confederated sejm (Polish: sejm skonfederowany) was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. ... For other persons named Stanisław Poniatowski, see Stanisław Poniatowski. ... Patriotic Party (Stronnictwo Patriotyczne) was a Polish political movement during the Four-Year Sejm of 1788-1792 that sought reforms aimed at bolstering Polands independence from Russia. ... Noble Family Małachowski Coat of Arms Nałęcz Parents Jan Małachowski Izabela Humiecka Consorts Urszula Czapska Konstancja Czapska Children None Date of Birth August 24, 1736 Place of Birth Końskie Date of Death December 29, 1809 Place of Death Warsaw Stanisław Małachowski (1736-1809) was a member of the Polish government... Noble Family Potocki Coat of Arms Piława Parents Eustachy Potocki Marianna Kątska Consorts Elżbieta Lubomirska Children with Elżbieta Lubomirska Krystyna Potocka Date of Birth February 28, 1750 Place of Birth Radzyn Podlaski Date of Death August 30, 1809 Place of Death Vienna Count Roman Ignacy Franciszek Potocki (generally known as... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Stanisław Staszic (November 6, 1755 - January 20, 1826) was a Polish priest, philosopher, statesman, geologist, scholar, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment, famous for works related to the Great or Four-Year Sejm (1788-1792) and the May Constitution of Poland adopted by it on May 3... Scipione Piattoli, an Italian priest and a resident of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, was private secretary to King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. ...

The advocates of the Constitution, under threat of violence from the Sejm's Muscovite Party (also known as the "Hetmans"), and with many contrary-minded deputies still away on Easter recess, managed to set debate on the Government Act forward by two days from the original May 5. The ensuing debate and adoption of the Government Act took place in a quasi-coup d'etat: many pro-reform deputies arrived early and in secret, and the royal guards were positioned about the Royal Castle where the Sejm was gathered, to prevent Muscovite adherents from disrupting the proceedings. The Constitution ("Government Act") bill was read out and passed overwhelmingly, to the enthusiasm of the crowds gathered outside. Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed in March, April, or May each year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year around AD 30-33. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...

The fall

The May 3rd, 1791, Constitution remained in effect for only a year before being overthrown, by Russian armies allied with the Targowica Confederation, in the War in Defense of the Constitution. Categories: Stub | Polish confederations ... This conflict took place in 1792 between Poland and her ally the Kingdom of Prussia, on one side, and the Russian Empire on the other. ...

War between Turkey and Russia having by now ended, Empress Catherine was furious over the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution. Russia had viewed Poland as a de facto protectorate. The contacts of Polish reformers with the Revolutionary French National Assembly were seen by Poland's neighbors as evidence of a revolutionary conspiracy and a threat to the absolute monarchies. The Prussian statesman Ewald von Hertzberg expressed the fears of European conservatives: "[The Poles] have given the coup de grâce to the Prussian monarchy by voting a constitution." Legal definition In international law, a protectorate is a state or territory controlled by a more powerful state. ... During the French Revolution, the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly which existed from June 17 to July 9 of 1789. ... Alternate uses: See Conspiracy (disambiguation) Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ...

A number of magnates who had opposed the Constitution from the start, such as Feliks Potocki and Ksawery Branicki, asked Tsarina Catherine to intervene and restore their privileges abolished under the Constitution. With her backing they formed the Targowica Confederation, and in their proclamation denounced the Constitution for spreading the "contagion of democratic ideas." They asserted that "The intentions of Her Highness the Empress of Russia [Catherine the Great], ally of the Polish Commonwealth, in introducing her army, are and have been none other than to restore to the Commonwealth and to Poles freedom, and in particular to all the country's citizens, security and happiness." On May 18, 1792, over 20,000 Confederates crossed the border into Poland, together with 97,000 veteran Russian troops. Categories: Stub | Polish confederations ... Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa, see also other names, in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: Stub | Polish confederations ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The Polish King and the reformers could field only a 37,000-man army, many of them untested recruits. The Polish Army, under the King's nephew Józef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko, did defeat the Russians on several occasions, but the King himself dealt a deathblow to the Polish cause: when in July 1792 Warsaw was threatened with siege by the Russians, the King came to believe that victory was impossible against the Russian numerical superiority, and that surrender was the only alternative to total defeat and a massacre of the reformers. Noble Family Poniatowski Coat of Arms Ciołek Parents Andrzej Poniatowski Maria Teresa Kinsky Consorts Zelia Sitańska Zofia Potocka Children with Zelia Sitańska Józef Szczęsny Poniatowski with Zofia Potocka Karol Józef Poniatowski Date of Birth May 7, 1763 Place of Birth Vienna Date of Death October 19, 1813 Place of Death... Tadeusz Kościuszko. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

On July 24, 1792, King Stanisław August abandoned the reformist cause and joined the Targowica Confederation. The Polish Army disintegrated. Many reform leaders, believing their cause lost, went into self-exile. July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The King had not saved the Commonwealth, however. To the surprise of the Targowica Confederates, there ensued the Second Partition of Poland. Russia took 250,000 square kilometers, and Prussia took 58,000. The Commonwealth now comprised no more than 212,000 square kilometers. What was left of the Commonwealth was merely a small buffer state with a puppet king and a Russian army. The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... A buffer state is a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater Powers that by its sheer existence is thought to prevent conflict between them. ...

For a year and a half Polish patriots bided their time, while planning an insurrection. On March 24, 1794, in Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko declared what has come to be known as the Kościuszko Uprising. On May 7 he issued the "Połaniec Proclamation" (Uniwersał Połaniecki), granting freedom to the peasants and ownership of land to all who fought in the insurrection. March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Kościuszko Uprising took place in Poland in 1794. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ...

After some initial victories — the Battle of Racławice (April 4) and the capture of Warsaw (April 18) and Wilno (April 22) — the Uprising was dealt a crippling blow: the forces of Russia, Austria and Prussia joined in a military intervention. Historians consider the Uprising's defeat to have been a foregone conclusion in face of the gigantic numerical superiority of the three invading powers. The defeat of Kościuszko's forces led to the third and final partition of the Commonwealth in 1795. Battle of Racławice Conflict Kościuszko Uprising Date April 4, 1794 Place Racławice, Lesser Poland Result Polish victory The Battle of Racławice was one of the first battles of the Polish Kościuszko Uprising against Russia. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... The Partitions of Poland ( Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Legacy

Nevertheless, memory of the world's second modern codified national constitution — recognized by political scientists as a very progressive document for its time — for generations helped keep alive Polish aspirations for an independent and just society, and continues to inform the efforts of its authors' descendants. In Poland it is viewed as the culmination of all that was good and enlightened in Polish history and culture. The May 3rd anniversary of its adoption has been observed as Poland's most important civic, May 3rd holiday, since Poland regained independence in 1918. See also: Political Science Notable political scientists Kenneth Arrow - Nobel Memorial Prize winning economist who published influential paper on his widely cited Arrows Impossibility Theorem Robert Axelrod Duncan Black - Responsible for unearthing the work of many early political scientists, including Charles Dodgson Jean-Charles de Borda - 18th century mathematician... The people of Poland took pride in their long history, filled with the struggle to get, keep, and regain freedom—the main value for Poles. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Civic can refer to multiple things: Civics, the science of comparative government Honda Civic, a small car produced by the Honda Motor Co. ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... In the United States, a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity. ... Second Polish Republic 1921-1939 The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Prior to the May 3rd Constitution, in Poland the term "constitution" (Polish: konstytucja) had denoted all the legislation, of whatever character, that had been passed at a Sejm. Only with the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution did konstytucja assume its modern sense of a fundamental document of governance. Legislation refers 1. ...

The very concept of a codified national constitution was revolutionary in the history of political systems. The first such constitution was the Constitution of the United States of America, written in 1787, which began to function in 1789. The second was the Constitution adopted by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on May 3, 1791. These two charters of government form an important milestone in the history of democracy. Poland and the United States, though distant geographically, showed some notable similarities in their approaches to the design of political systems.^{[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791#endnote_Markoff)} By contrast to the great absolute monarchies, both countries were remarkably democratic. The kings of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were elected, and the Commonwealth's parliament (the Sejm) possessed extensive legislative authority. Under the May 3rd Constitution, Poland afforded political privileges to its townspeople and to its nobility (the szlachta), which formed some ten percent of the country's population. This percentage closely approximated the extent of political access in contemporary America, where effective suffrage was limited to male property owners. A political system is a social system of politics and government. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A Spanish kilometre stone A milestone on the Boston Post Road in Harvard Square, Massachusetts, USA Slate milestone near Bangor, Wales A milestone or kilometre sign is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road at regular intervals, typically at the side of the road or in... Origins Ancient Greece Main article: Athenian democracy The word democracy was invented in Athens, Greece, to describe the revolutionary system of government used. ... Absolute monarchy is an idealized form of government, a monarchy where the ruler has the power to rule his or her country and citizens freely with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition telling him or her what to do, although some religious authority may be able to discourage the... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ...

The defeat of Poland's liberals was but a temporary setback to the cause of democracy. The destruction of the Polish state only slowed the expansion of democracy, by then already established in North America. Democratic movements soon began undermining the absolute monarchies of Europe. The May 3rd Constitution was translated, in abridged form, into French, German and English. French revolutionaries toasted King Stanisław August and the Constitution — not only for their progressive character, but because the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Kościuszko Uprising tied up appreciable Russian and Prussian forces that could not therefore be used against Revolutionary France. Thomas Paine regarded the May 3rd Constitution as a great breakthrough. Edmund Burke described it as "the noblest benefit received by any nation at any time…. Stanislas II has earned a place among the greatest kings and statesmen in history." In the end, the conservatives managed to delay the ascent of democracy in Europe only for a century; after the First World War most of the European monarchies were replaced by democratic states, including the reborn, Second Polish Republic. Absolute monarchy is an idealized form of government, a monarchy where the ruler has the power to rule his or her country and citizens freely with no laws or legally-organized direct opposition telling him or her what to do, although some religious authority may be able to discourage the... The period of the French Revolution in the history of France covers the years between 1789 and 1799, in which democrats and republicans overthrew the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ... This conflict took place in 1792 between Poland and her ally the Kingdom of Prussia, on one side, and the Russian Empire on the other. ... The Kościuszko Uprising took place in Poland in 1794. ... Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737 – June 8, 1809) was an intellectual scholar and idealist, widely recognized as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729 – July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, and philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig Party. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Second Polish Republic 1921-1939 The Second Polish Republic is an unofficial name applied to the Republic of Poland between World War I and World War II. When the borders of the state were fixed in 1921, it had an area of 388. ...

Features

King Stanisław August described the May 3rd Constitution, according to a contemporary account, as "founded principally on those of England and the United States of America, but avoiding the faults and errors of both, and adapt[ed] as much as possible to the local and particular circumstances of the country." Indeed, the Polish and American national constitutions reflected similar Enlightenment influences, including Montesquieu's advocacy of a separation and balance of powers among the three branches of government — so that, in the words of the May 3rd Constitution (article V), "the integrity of the states, civil liberty, and social order remain always in equilibrium" — as well as Montesquieu's advocacy of a bicameral legislature. For the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding movement in the European Jewish community, see Haskalah. ... Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Separation of powers is the idea that the powers of a sovereign government should be split between two or more strongly independent entities, preventing any one person or group from gaining too much power. ... Montesquieu can refer to: Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Several communes of France: Montesquieu, in the Hérault département Montesquieu, in the Lot-et-Garonne département Montesquieu, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ...

The Constitution comprised 11 articles. It introduced the principle of popular sovereignty (applied to the nobility and townspeople) and a separation of powers into legislative (a bicameral Sejm), executive ("the King in his council") and judicial branches. Popular sovereignty is the doctrine that government is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power. ... Separation of powers is the idea that the powers of a sovereign government should be split between two or more strongly independent entities, preventing any one person or group from gaining too much power. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ...

The Constitution advanced the democratization of the polity by limiting the excessive legal immunities and political prerogatives of landless nobility, while granting to the townspeople — in the earlier Our Free Royal Cities in the States of the Commonwealth Act (Polish: Miasta Nasze Królewskie wolne w państwach Rzeczypospolitej) of April 18, 1791, stipulated in Article III to be integral to the Constitution — personal security, the right to acquire landed property, eligibility for military officers' commissions, public offices, and membership in the nobility (szlachta). The Government Act also placed the Commonwealth's peasantry "under the protection of the national law and government" — a first step toward the ending of serfdom and the enfranchisement of that largest and most oppressed social class. ^{[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791#endnote_slavery)} Polity is a general term that refers to political organization of a group. ... Immunity confers a status on a person or body that makes that person or body free from otherwise legal obligations such as, for example, liability for damages or punishment for criminal acts. ... April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Military commissions are among procedures planned by the U.S. Bush administration to deal with detainees it links to al-Qaida. ... The Lords and Barons prove their Nobility by hanging their Banners and exposing their Coats-of-arms at the Windows of the Lodge of the Heralds. ... Szlachta ( pronounced: [ʃlaxta]) was the noble class in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Categories: 1911 Britannica | Historical stubs | Feudalism ... Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. ... A social class is, in the most basic sense, a group of people that shares the same or similar social status. ...

The May 3rd Constitution provided for a Sejm, "ordinarily" meeting every two years and "extraordinarily" whenever required by a national emergency. Its lower chamber — the Chamber of Deputies (Polish: Izba Poselska) — comprised 204 deputies and 24 plenipotentiaries of royal cities; its upper chamber — the Chamber of Senators (Polish: Izba Senacka) — comprised 132 senators (voivodes, castellans, government ministers and bishops). This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The term plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power) refers to a person who has full powers. ... The Senate (Senat) is the upper house of the Polish parliament. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... For the heavy metal music band see Voivod (band). ... A castellan was the governor or caretaker of a castle or keep. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who holds a specific position of authority in any of a number of Christian churches. ...

Executive power was in the hands of the royal council, called the Guardianship of the Laws (Polish: Straż Praw). This council was presided over by the King and comprised 5 ministers appointed by him: a minster of police, minister of the seal (i.e. of internal affairs — the seal was a traditional attribute of the earlier Chancellor), minister of the seal of foreign affairs, minister belli (of war), and minster of treasury. The ministers were appointed by the King but responsible to the Sejm. In addition to the ministers, council members included the Roman Catholic Primate (who was also president of the Education Commission) and — without a voice — the Crown Prince, the Marshal of the Sejm, and two secretaries. This royal council was a descendant of the similar council that had functioned over the previous two centuries since King Henry's Articles (1573). Acts of the King required the countersignature of the respective minister. The stipulation that the King, "[d]oing 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 king's acts.) 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The internal affairs division of a police agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force. ... Kanclerz ( Polish for Chancellor, from latin:castellanus) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. ... This article is about a journal. ... A military or miltary force (n. ... For the U.S. government securities, see Treasury security A treasury is the part of a government which manages all money and revenue. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates (Latin primus first), the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. ... A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... King Henrys Articles - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Events January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland. ...

To enhance Commonwealth integration and security, the Constitution abolished the erstwhile union of Poland and Lithuania in favor of a unitary state and changed the government from an individually- to a dynastically-elective monarchy. The latter provision was meant to reduce the destructive, vying influences of foreign powers at each royal election.^{[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Constitution_of_May_3%2C_1791#endnote_stanislaw)} Under the terms of the May 3rd Constitution, on Stanisław August's death the throne of Poland was to pass to the house of Saxony, which had provided two of Poland's recent elective kings. The term Polish-Lithuanian Union refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lead to the creation of the Republic of Both Nations in 1569 and eventually to creation of a unified state in 1791. ... A unitary state is a state or country that is governed constitutionally as one single unit, with one constitutionally created legislature. ... In metaphysics and statistics, the word individual, while sometimes meaning a person, more typically describes any numerically singular thing. ... A dynasty is a family or extended family which retains political power across generations, or more generally, any organization which extends dominance in its field even as its particular members change. ... An elective monarchy is a monarchy whose reigning king or queen is elected in some form. ... With an area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ...

The Constitution abolished several institutional sources of government weakness and national anarchy, including the liberum veto, confederations, confederated sejms (paradoxically, the Four-Year Sejm was itself a confederated sejm), and the excessive sway of sejmiks (regional sejms) stemming from the binding nature of their instructions to their Sejm deputies. Liberum veto (Latin: free veto) was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that allowed any deputy to a Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify all legislation already passed at it. ... A confederation is an association of sovereign states, usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution. ... Confederated sejm (Polish: sejm skonfederowany) was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. ... Sejm Czteroletni (Four-Year Sejm, also known as Sejm Wielki, the Great Sejm) was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth held in Warsaw, inaugurated in 1788. ... A sejmik (diminutive of the Polish sejm, or parliament) was a regional sejm in the pre-partition Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and earlier in the Kingdom of Poland. ...

The Constitution acknowledged the Roman Catholic faith as the "dominant religion," but guaranteed tolerance of, and freedom, to all religions. The Army was to be built up to 100,000 men. Standing income taxes were established (10% on the nobility, 20% on the church). Amendments to the constitution could be made every 25 years. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Tolerance is a social, cultural and religious term applied to the collective and individual practice of not persecuting those who may believe, behave or act in ways of which one may not approve. ... Freedom of religion is the individuals right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ... ...

The May 3rd Constitution recognized, as integral to itself, the act on Our Free Royal Cities in the States of the Commonwealth that had been passed on April 18, 1791 (Constitution, article III) and the act on regional sejms (Sejmiki) passed earlier on March 24, 1791 (article VI). Some authorities additionally regard as parts of the Constitution the Declaration of the Assembled Estates of May 5, 1791, confirming the Government Act adopted two days earlier, and the Mutual Declaration of the Two Peoples (i.e., of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) of October 22, 1791, affirming the unity and indivisibility of Poland and the Grand Duchy. The provisions of the Government Act were fleshed out in a number of implementing laws passed in May–June 1791 on sejms and sejm courts (two acts of May 13), the Guardianship (June 1), the national police commission (that is, ministry: June 17) and civic administration (June 24). April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... The presumable banner of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the coat of arms, called Пагоня in Belarusian, Vytis in Lithuanian and Pogoń in Polish Another version of the Lithuanian banner The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Belarusian: Вялі́кае Кня́ства Літо́ўскае (ВКЛ), Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське (ВКЛ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... This article is about the lower chamber of Polish parliament. ... A sejm court was a court that sat in cases of impeachment--in the words of the May 3rd Constitution of 1791 (article VIII: the judicial authority)--of government ministers [...] charged with breach of law by a deputation designated to examine their deeds [...]. The composition and functioning of sejm courts... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... Civic can refer to multiple things: Civics, the science of comparative government Honda Civic, a small car produced by the Honda Motor Co. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Administration Organisational use In some organisational analyses, administration can refer to the bureaucratic or operational performance of mundane office tasks, usually internally oriented. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ...

The May 3rd Constitution remained to the last a work in progress. Its co-author Hugo Kołłątaj announced work underway on "an economic constitution…guaranteeing all rights of property [and] securing protection and honor to all manner of labor…" Yet a third basic law was touched on by Kołłątaj: a "moral constitution," most likely a Polish analog to the American Bill of Rights and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Economics (in Greek Οικονομικά) derives from the Greek word Eco(οίκω=house) and nemo(νέμω=distribute) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources through measurable variables. ... This page deals with property as ownership rights. ... A bill of rights is a statement of certain rights that citizens and/or residents of a free and democratic society have (or ought to have) under the laws of that society. ... The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, (French: La Déclaration des Droits de lHomme et du citoyen), was one of the fundamental documents of the French Revolution, defining a set of individual rights (and collective rights of the people vis a vis the state). ...

Notes

For John Markoff, computing and technology writer, see John Markoff John Markoff is Professor of Sociology and History at the University of Pittsburgh. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The term mistress is the feminine form of the word master. ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь, listen; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... Election sejm (Polish: sejm elekcyjny) was one of three kinds of special sejm in pre-partition Poland. ... Sowiński defending Wola during the November Uprising Wola is a district of western Warsaw, Poland, formerly the village of Wielka Wola, that was incorporated into Warsaw in 1916. ...

History

Background

Drafting and Adoption

The fall

Legacy

Features

Notes

See also

References

External links

History GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Background

Drafting and Adoption

The fall

Legacy

Features

Notes

See also

References

External links

History