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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Poland
Index
The first partition in 1772 did not directly threaten
the
viability of Poland-Lithuania. Poland retained extensive
territory that included the Polish heartland. In fact, the
shock
of the annexations made clear the dangers of decay in
government
institutions, creating a body of opinion favorable to
reform
along the lines of the European
Enlightenment (see Glossary).
King Stanislaw August supported the progressive elements
in the
government and promoted the ideas of foreign political
figures
such as Edmund Burke and George Washington. At the same
time,
Polish intellectuals discussed Enlightenment philosophers
such as
Montesquieu and Rousseau. During this period, the concept
of
democratic institutions for all classes was accepted in
Polish
society. Education reform included establishment of the
first
ministry of education in Europe. Taxation and the army
underwent
thorough reform, and government again was centralized in
the
Permanent Council. Landholders emancipated large numbers
of
peasants, although there was no official government
decree.
Polish cities, in decline for many decades, were revived
by the
influence of the Industrial Revolution, especially in
mining and
textiles.
Stanislaw August's process of renovation reached its
climax
on May 3, 1791, when, after three years of intense debate,
the
"Four Years' Sejm" produced Europe's first written
constitution.
Conceived in the liberal spirit of the contemporaneous
document
in the United States, the constitution recast
Poland-Lithuania as
a hereditary monarchy and abolished many of the
eccentricities
and antiquated features of the old system. The new
constitution
abolished the individual veto in parliament; provided a
separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government; and established "people's
sovereignty" (for the noble and bourgeois classes).
Although
never fully implemented, the Constitution of May 3 gained
an
honored position in the Polish political heritage;
tradition
marks the anniversary of its passage as the country's most
important civic holiday.
Data as of October 1992
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