constitution
TRANSCRIPT
- 1.PrimarySchool 21 in Koszalin, Poland
Constitution of May 3, 1791
2. Constitution of May 3, 1791
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 PolishLithuanian
Commonwealth.
3. The May 3 Constitution was designed to redress long-standing
political defects of the PolishLithuanian 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 Constitution abolished pernicious
parliamentary institutions such as the liberum veto, which at one
time had put the sejm at the mercy of any deputy who might choose,
or be bribed by an interest or foreign power, to undo legislation
passed by that sejm. The Constitution sought to supplant the
existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's magnates with a
more democraticconstitutional monarchy.The document was translated
into Lithuanian. The adoption of the May 3 Constitution provoked
the active hostility of the Commonwealth's neighbors. In the War in
Defense of the Constitution, the Commonwealth lost.
4. May 3 Constitution, by Matejko (1891). King Stanisaw August
(left) enters St. John's Cathedral, where deputies will swear to
uphold the Constitution. Background: Warsaw's Royal Castle, where
it has just been adopted.
5. Background
By the early 17th century, the magnates of Poland and Lithuania
controlled the Commonwealthor rather, they managed to ensure that
no reforms would be carried out that might weaken their privileged
status (the "Golden Freedoms").
They spent lavishly on banquets, drinking bouts and other
amusements, while the peasants languished in abysmal conditions and
the towns, many of which were wholly within the private property of
a magnate who feared the rise of an independent middle class, were
kept in a state of ruin.
The Enlightenment had gained great influence in certain
Commonwealth circles during the reign (176495) of its last king,
Stanisaw August Poniatowski, and the King had proceeded with
cautious reforms such as the establishment of fiscal and military
ministries and a national customs tariff.
6. However, the idea of reforms in the Commonwealth was viewed with
growing suspicion not only by the magnates, but also by neighboring
countries, which were content with the Commonwealth's contemporary
state of affairs and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and
democratic power on their borders.
- However, the idea of reforms in the Commonwealth was viewed with growing suspicion not only by the magnates, but also by neighboring countries, which were content with the Commonwealth's contemporary state of affairs and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and democratic
power on their borders.
7. Accordingly Russia's Empress Catherine the Great and Prussia's
King Frederick the Great provoked a conflict between some members
of the Sejm and the King over civil rights for religiou 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 acquiesce in Russian
demands and during the RepninSejm (named after unofficially
presiding Russian ambassador Nicholas Repnin) accept the five
"eternal and invariable principles" which Catherine vowed to
"protect for all time to come in the name of Poland's
liberties.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1789-1792, after removal of Russian
Empire protectorate
8. On February 29, 1768, several magnates, including
KazimierPuaski, vowing to oppose Russian intervention, declared
Stanisaw August a "lackey of Russia and Catherine" and formed a
confederation at the town of Bar. The Bar Confederation began a
civil war with the goal of overthrowing the King and fought on
until 1772, when overwhelmed by Russian intervention. 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 powersRussia, Prussia and Austriasigned the First
Partition treaty. The PolishLithuanian Commonwealth was to be
divested of about a third of its territory and population (over
200,000 km2 (77,220 sqmi) and 4 million people).
9. Rejtan, by Matejko. In September 1773, Rejtan (lower right)
tried to prevent ratification of the First Partition of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by barring other Sejm deputies from
the chamber.
10. In 1791, the "Great" or Four-Year Sejm of 178892 adopted the
May 3 Constitution at Warsaw's Royal Castle.
11.
- Supported by King Stanisaw August, a new wave of reforms were introduced. The most important included the establishment, in 1773, of a KomisjaEdukacjiNarodowej ("Commission of National Education")the first ministry of education in the world!!!
The Commonwealth's military was modernized, and 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
King Stanisaw August, principal author of Constitution.
12. The Constitution remained in effect for only a year before
being overthrown, by Russian armies allied with the Targowica
Confederation, in the War over the May 3, 1791, Constitution.
13. Holiday
May 3 was first declared a holidayon May 5, 1791.
Banned during the partitions of Poland (though still then
occasionally celebrated)
celebrated in the Duchy of Warsaw.
It was again made an official Polish holiday in April 1919 under
the Second Polish Republicthe first holiday officially introduced
in the Second Polish Republic.
The May 3 holiday was banned once more during World War II by the
Nazi and Soviet occupiers.
14. After the 1946 anti-communist student demonstrations, May 3
Constitution Day lost support with the authorities of the Polish
People's Republic, who replaced it with May 1 Labor Day
celebrations.
Until 1989, May 3 was a common day for anti-government and
anti-communist protests.
May 3 was restored as an official Polish holiday in April 1990,
after the fall of communism.
In 2007, May 3 was in addition declared a Lithuanian national
holiday. The first joint celebration by the Polish Sejm and the
Lithuanian Seimas took place on May 3, 2007.
TheEnd
15. Made By: Arkadiusz P.