A copy of the Constitution in Polish and English.
The Constitution of May 3, 1791 is generally regarded as Europe’s first and the world’s second modern codified national constitution, following the 1788 ratification of the United States Constitution. The May 3, 1791, Constitution was adopted as a “Government Act” on that date by the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish—“Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The May 3 Constitution was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the Polish—“Lithuanian Commonwealth and its traditional system of “Golden Liberty” conveying disproportionate rights and privileges to the nobility. The Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility and placed the peasants under the protection of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom.
The adoption of the May 3 Constitution provoked the active hostility of the Commonwealth’s neighbors. Despite the Commonwealth’s defeat in the War in Defense of the Constitution against Russia and her allies, and the consequent Second Partition of the Polish—“Lithuanian Commonwealth, the May 3 Constitution influenced later democratic movements across Europe and elsewhere. It remained a beacon in the struggle to restore Polish sovereignty.
