Konstytucja 3 Maja (the Constitution of May 3rd, 1791) represents a landmark achievement in Polish political history and European constitutional development. Adopted by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s Great Sejm (parliament), this progressive document became the first modern constitution in Europe and the second in the world, following only the United States Constitution. The constitution emerged during a period of national crisis when the Polish-Lithuanian state faced dissolution due to internal weakness and pressure from neighboring empires—Russia, Prussia, and Austria—each seeking territorial advantages.
The May 3rd Constitution introduced sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening and modernizing the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It abolished the harmful Liberum Veto (a parliamentary procedure requiring unanimous consent for all decisions), established a strong executive branch under the king, created a professional civil service, granted significant rights to urban merchants and townspeople, and affirmed the principle that royal succession would follow the throne rather than through election. These reforms embodied Enlightenment ideals of rational governance, legal order, and progressive administration.
Unfortunately, the constitution’s progressive vision faced immediate external opposition. Russia and Prussia viewed the reforms as threatening to their interests and ability to manipulate Polish politics. Within just over a year, Russian military intervention and the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 destroyed the constitutional order. The commonwealth itself would cease to exist by 1795 following the Third Partition.
Despite its brief implementation, Konstytucja 3 Maja profoundly influenced Polish national consciousness and became a symbol of Polish aspirations for democracy, sovereignty, and progressive governance. For Polish Americans, including those in the Bay Area, the May 3rd Constitution represents the democratic ideals that Polish intellectuals and patriots championed throughout centuries of partition and occupation, inspiring Polish-American commitment to democratic principles in their adopted homeland.